Chinese President Hu Jintao said Monday that supervision over the use of hefty quake relief fund and materials should be intensified to guarantee they would be exclusively used for what they were intended to.
"We must ensure that the quake relief fund and materials will be veritably used for quake relief and the people affected by the earthquake," Hu, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, told a workshop marking the 87th founding anniversary of the CPC.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the Party's grassroots organizations and members who had been honored for their roles in the rescue and relief campaign after the May 12 earthquake. Top leaders Wu Bangguo, Wen Jiabao, Jia Qinglin and others were also present.
The death toll of the 8.0-magnitude Wenchuan earthquake reached nearly 70,000, and more than 18,000 were reported missing Monday. Government relief fund totaled 54.72 billion yuan (about 7.82 billion U.S. dollars), while domestic and foreign donations hit 55.3 billion yuan in cash and goods.
Hu told the meeting that education and supervision of Party members and leading officials in regard to clean governance should be strengthened, the system of punishing and preventing corruption further be improved, and efforts in the anti-corruption drive be increased.
These measures are essential for the Party members and leading officials "to maintain their original political color, and be clean in doing their jobs and behaving themselves," Hu said.
He also promised that officials who "passed tests and showed extraordinary capability in the rescue, relief and rebuilding work" should be promoted to leading positions.
