Top graft-buster vows enhanced discipline inspection

BEIJING - Inspection is a strategic and systematic intra-Party supervision arrangement that will be further developed after the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) to be held later this year, top graft-buster Wang Qishan said.

Wang, head of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, made the remarks in an article carried Monday by the People's Daily, the flagship newspaper of the CPC.

He said the authority of inspection is assured by the centralized and unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee and empowered by the Party Constitution.

"Without the leadership of the CPC Central Committee, the inspection would not play such a big role and achieve such remarkable results," he said.

During the 12 rounds of inspection by central inspection authorities since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, 277 Party organizations have been inspected, 16 provincial-level regions have been re-examined and flexible inspections of four institutions under the central authorities have been carried out, he said.

The inspections also covered major state-owned enterprises, central financial institutions and major universities, among others, according to the article.

This is the first time the Party has successfully inspected all these entities within an administrative term, it said.

"All of the problems discovered during the inspections reflect the weakening of Party leadership, deficiency in Party building and inadequate work in strict Party governance," Wang said.

The root is in the relaxed and unhealthy intra-Party political life, he said.

In the battle to safeguard a clean political environment, great results have been achieved in strict Party governance.

Inspection authorities usually make public the list of target units and collect information through various channels before carrying out an inspection.

They also open hotlines and mailboxes to information on disciplinary violations during inspection, while feedback and rectification of targeted units are also publicized after the inspection.

The inspections have been linked to innovative approaches and other breakthroughs in Party governance.

The first round of discipline inspection in 2013 focused on work style, graft, political discipline and personnel selection, while Party discipline and strict Party governance have been emphasized in following rounds of inspection, the article said.

"Inspection is a political check-up, while re-examination is a political review that aims to extend and amplify deterrence," Wang said.

During re-examination, inspectors have discovered misconduct by officials, including Huang Xingguo, former acting Party chief and mayor of Tianjin Municipality.

The development of inspection work has sent a strong message that discipline inspection, as a "sword" of intra-Party supervision, is not a matter of expediency, but rather a systematic arrangement with a long-term vision, the article said.

The biggest challenge for the Party's long-term governance is a lack of effective supervision of power, Wang said.

Stressing that trust cannot take the place of supervision, Wang said the Party aims to improve intra-Party supervision through inspection and exposing real problems.

"The problems we are facing have been accumulated over a long period and therefore require a long period of time to solve," he added.