Chart of the Day: Cases of Party Misconduct Jump 40%

China’s Communist Party has been keeping a closer eye on its members, especially those working at the township or village levels, data from the country’s anti-corruption watchdog shows.

The result has been a marked increase in the number of officials nationwide who have faced disciplinary action this year. The party’s internal corruption police took action against 1.14 million party members in the first nine months of 2018, a 40% surge from the same period last year, according to a report (link in Chinese) published Sunday by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI).

Of those members, 92.1% were hit with minor punishments or made to undertake “criticism education,” while 4.7% were slapped with major disciplinary actions. Some 3.2% of disciplined members were accused of serious violations of party discipline and placed under investigation for illegal misconduct.

In the first nine months, 39 provincial- and ministerial-level cadres faced disciplinary action, down from 56 members over the same period in 2017 (link in Chinese). The number of disciplined party members at the township or village level jumped by around 19%.

Tackling the country’s rampant corruption has been a key mission of the party since President Xi Jinping took office in 2012. Since then, many high-level Communist Party officials have been removed from power.

Contact reporter Charlotte Yang (yutingyang@caixin.com)