System building

The government has laid equal emphasis on building a more effective system of prevention and supervision.

"The most prominent achievement of the anti-corruption efforts since 2003 was not the downfall of corrupt officials, but the improvement of the system for checking corruption," Wang says.

The CPC promulgated three regulations to beef up internal discipline in 2004 alone, marking a new stage of Party building, Wang says.

Meanwhile, disciplinary heads in various departments are no longer selected from inside the departments, but dispatched by the Party's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, Wang says. "As a result, they would be more independent and effective."

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection has also been sending task forces, openly or secretly, to various localities to solicit grassroots comments on local high-ranking officials.

"Such comments are generally more substantial and trustworthy than the traditional practice of anonymous letters reporting on official misbehavior," says Wang.

"The government is also active in international cooperation to fight corruption," Wang says.

The country was among the first to ratify the United Nations Anti-Corruption Convention, which went into effect on December 13 last year.

China ratified an extradition treaty with Spain on April 29, the first with a developed country. Before this, China had signed extradition treaties with more than 20 mostly developing countries since 1993.

"The cooperation could reduce the range of corrupt officials' activities," Wang says.

The scholar believes only through system building can the country win a final victory in its prolonged battle against corruption.

Public feedback

The new corruption fight has won the support of the Chinese public, who have been avidly discussing the dismissal of Chen.

About 800,000 visitors had read the news about Chen between noon Monday and noon Wednesday on Xinhuanet, operated by Xinhua News Agency.

Thousands left comments along the lines of "heartening", "surprising", "great", "support" or even "This is what the CPC should be doing."

Most people interviewed say the move has satisfied the public.

"It's big news," says a 72-year-old retired worker Zhou Junyingin Beijing. "We just hate the corrupt officials. Many people I know are living on a minimum pension of a few hundred yuan."

"The Party's tenet is to serve for the people, but some have degenerated to serve their own interests. They might jeopardize the Party or even the country. The move is timely. We expect and welcome more," says 70-year-old Gao Guishan, a retiree and also a Party member.

"My instant reaction at the news was whether housing prices would slow down," says 28-year-old Yao Lan, an employee in a joint venture in Shanghai. "Just look at the unreasonable housing prices of Shanghai. The officials including Chen should be held accountable for this."

At a press conference on Tuesday, Gan Yisheng, secretary-general of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, said the dismissal of Chen had received public support.

"We should learn from the lesson and promote further measures such as transparency in government to check corruption at its source," Gan said.

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