Local party chiefs vow to take blame for failures in anti-graft drive
Officials concealing corruption cases involving relatives, subordinates face severe punishment
Party chiefs of eight provinces and municipalities - including Sichuan, Guangxi, Shaanxi and Shanghai - have pledged to take responsibility for any negligence in promoting the ongoing anti-corruption campaign, the nation's top anti-graft watchdog said.
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) said in several reports posted on its website that inspectors had warned that officials who were found to be concealing any cases of corruption by their subordinates or relatives would be severely punished.
The pledges of allegiance came after anti-graft inspectors said that President Xi Jinping's message of "zero tolerance for corruption" would become a systemic and long-term theme of a new accountability system to weed out bad and corrupt practices among cadres.
The eight party heads promised they would cooperate with inspection teams sent by the CCDI, the reports said.
The CCDI said the pledges were made after inspectors pointed out the rampant corruption among different levels of party cadres in the eight places.
The comments highlight how serious corruption among grass-roots cadres has become, with land deals, official infrastructure projects and land development the key areas where illicit profits are made.