Chinese Premier Li Keqiang warns 'slack' officials they'll be exposed
Sloppiness, neglect, and indolence will be exposed, vows Li in policy address, as party identifies being 'self-willed' as a vice alongside graft
Premier Li Keqiang pledged to curb graft as he accused some officials of being "slack" in their actions and "self-willed" in exercising their power, saying that "shocking cases of corruption still exist".
In his state-of-the-union policy address to the National People's Congress yesterday, Li vowed to promote good governance and to pursue officials who neglected their duties.
His warning followed reports in mainland media that the far-reaching anti-corruption campaign pursued by President Xi Jinping had led to "slackness" among some officials, who chose inaction as a way to avoid making mistakes. State leaders including chief graft-buster Wang Qishan , the secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, have previously said that corruption and slackness are two vices the Communist Party is targeting.
Meanwhile Xi urged political advisers to observe socialist values and abide by the law. Xi has pursued his anti-corruption drive since coming to office in 2012. It has taken down dozens of NPC delegates and members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in the past year.
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While Li focused on efforts to weed out corruption, he also pledged in his address to promote governance by law, improve the government's working style and efficiency, eliminate opportunities to seek favour from, and bribe, officials - so-called rent-seeking - and cut red tape.