Fujian Governor Xi Jinping kicked off his first working day after the Lunar New Year holiday by lecturing cadres in the province on the importance of being honest and steering clear of corruption in a televised anti-graft conference.

Mr Xi chaired a conference in Fuzhou yesterday and told cadres that they should practise self-discipline and immerse themselves in 'moral education' to fight corruption, Xinhua reported.

He reminded them that society would never be rid of corruption unless they set an example by being honest.

Yesterday was the first working day for most government departments and businesses after the holiday.

Fujian province has been hard hit by the Yuan Hua smuggling scandal and dozens of senior cadres have been implicated. Former Communist Party secretary Chen Mingyi was forced to resign last year over the scandal.

More than 100 officials have been tried by Fujian courts and at least 84 sentenced. However, it is understood that appeals are still pending while the alleged kingpin Lai Changxing is fighting extradition from Canada.

Yesterday, Fujian officials at the conference were told that provincial officers had investigated 1,993 cases of corruption last year. The investigators found that a total of 51.6 million yuan (HK$48.5 million) in public funds had been misappropriated and only 16.38 million yuan recovered.