87 Chinese mid-level officials, including three minister-level “tigers,” were placed under inspection in 2023, as China pledges to continuously deepen the fight against corruption in the long run, a latest work report released by China’s top anti-graft authority shows, Xinhua News Agency reported on Sunday.

The work report released at the third plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) noted that China’s top anti-graft watchdog vows to resolutely eliminate systemic corruption risks and hidden dangers.

According to the work report, the CCDI and the National Commission of Supervision initiated investigations into 87 mid-level officials. Nationwide, disciplinary and supervisory authorities filed 626,000 cases for investigation, detained 26,000 individuals, and imposed the Party disciplinary or administrative punishment on 610,000 people. In the efforts to combat corruption, a total of 17,000 bribers were investigated nationwide. Focused efforts were placed on dealing with cross-border corruption cases, resulting in the recovery of losses of 10.2 billion yuan ($1.42 billion). In addition, 1,624 fugitives were repatriated through the Sky Net 2023 campaign.

The disciplinary and supervisory authorities nationwide also rigorously investigated and dealt with double-dealers or two-faced persons who were disloyal and dishonest to the Party. In 2023, 8,890 individuals were punished for violating political disciplines, including 34 mid-level officials.

Three minister-level “tigers” including Dong Yunhu, former chairman of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal People's Congress; Sun Zhigang, former vice director of the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee under the National People's Congress (NPC), the country's top legislature, who also served as former secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Guizhou Provincial Committee; and Han Yong, former chairperson of the Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, were placed under investigation.

The authority had focused on the combat against and the punishment in corruption in the financial sector, state-owned enterprises, universities, sports, tobacco, medicine, grain purchase and marketing, and statistics.

The report thoroughly analyzed corruption and disciplinary issues in the field of football, advocates for a thorough investigation and rectification, and promotes the establishment of a sound institutional mechanism for the healthy development of football.

In 2023, the disciplinary and supervisory authorities nationwide closely targeted corruption and misconduct at the grassroots level, addressing prominent issues raised by the public in areas such as employment and entrepreneurship, education and healthcare, elderly care and social security, ecological and environmental protection, workplace safety, food and drug safety, as well as law enforcement and judicial field.

Special campaigns were launched in 2023 to rectify corruption and misconduct in the rural revitalization field, with a focus on investigating corruption related to organized crimes, as well as issues involving collusion with criminal organizations and offering a protection umbrella for criminal gangs. A total of 77,000 cases of corruption and misconduct in related to people’s livelihood were investigated and handled, resulting in the Party disciplinary or administrative punishment given to 75,000 individuals.

Besides, the disciplinary and supervisory authorities nationwide investigated and addressed 62,000 cases of hedonism and extravagance, educating and dealing with 83,000 individuals. Additionally, they addressed 46,000 cases of formalism and bureaucratic problems, giving criticism and education to 71,000 individuals.

Moreover, a total of 2,317 Party organizations and 43,000 Party members, officials, and supervisory targets were held accountable for significant safety accidents nationwide.