Authorities in Guangdong Province detained, arrested, prosecuted and punished 11 corrupt prefecture-level Party and government officials between January 2006 and last month.

Over the same period, 117 county-level officials were investigated and punished for accepting bribes or abuses of power, delegates at a conference on fighting commercial corruption here in the provincial capital heard yesterday.

Zhao Zhenhua, deputy secretary of Guangdong Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC, said the province will this year step up its fight against corruption.

Since January 2006, Guangdong authorities have handled 2,523 cases of commercial corruption, involving 1.25 billion yuan ($179 million) and 1,392 Party and government officials, Zhao said.

Of the cases, 103 involved more than 1 million yuan, and 882 people, including 58 county-level officials, have been jailed for their involvement, he said.

More than 1 billion yuan has been confiscated, he said.

There will be no slackening of effort in the battle against corruption in Guangdong involving economic, commercial and trade activities, Zhao said.

"We will be keeping a particularly close eye on economic activities such as construction projects, land leasing deals, the trading of property rights, financial investments, food and drug safety, and environmental protection," he said.

Prosecutors across the province should continue to introduce concrete and effective measures to deal with major cases, he said.

"Those who offer bribes will also be seriously punished according to law," he said.

Zhao is also deputy director of the task force on anti-commercial corruption in Guangdong, which borders the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions. The team includes prosecutors, police officers and other law enforcement personnel.

(China Daily May 1, 2008)