The discipline watchdog of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has set its major tasks for this year, pledging continued efforts to fight corruption in a variety of sectors and areas.

Wu Guanzheng, secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, made the remarks in his report to the commission's Third Plenary Session in last month, which was published Sunday.

The Party will continue its bid to improve the education of leading cadres to promote self-discipline and curb corruption, Wu said in the report.

Wu, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, said the Party will beef up the campaign to tackle cases involving leading cadres and officials suspected of breaking laws and disciplines, and punish corrupt cadres and officials, mainly at the county level and above.

The Party will also step up efforts to protect the interests of the general public through curbing projects designed by officials only to show off at public expenses and by protecting the legitimate interests of disadvantaged people such as farmers in land acquisition deals, urban residents in relocation projects, employees of state-owned firms in corporate regrouping and bankruptcy deals, and migrant workers who often complain about delayed payment of wages.

On the performance of the Party's discipline commissions at various levels from December 2002 to November 2003, Wu said 174,580 leading officials at various levels across the country had been disciplined for breaking laws and Party disciplines, including 6,043 at and above the county level and 21 at the ministerial level.

Only a small percentage of those punished were involved in graft cases, Wu said.

Wu said a total of 8,691 of those punished were deprived of Party membership and were prosecuted according to law, including 412 leading Party and government officials at or above the county level and six at the ministerial level.

To intensify its anti-graft campaign, the CPC published last week its internal supervision regulations and regulations on disciplinary penalties. The CPC Central Committee urged all the Party members to earnestly study, widely publicize and strictly observe the regulations.

(Xinhua News Agency February 23, 2004)