China National Radio (CNR):
The seventh plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) proposed that the confessions of high-ranking corrupt officials should be issued and circulated within the units where their offences were committed. Besides, the communiqué released yesterday also put forward the idea that confessions should be made public as much as possible. I would like to ask: what the next step will be in making confessions open to the public?
Zhu Guoxian:
Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CCDI has edited the confessions of high-ranking Party officials gravely violating discipline and the laws. The approach fully reflects the consistent principle of our Party of "helping the people learn from past mistakes and avoid future ones, and curing the sickness to save the patient."
The confessions of corrupt officials were given at the cost of their own painful lessons. The idea of issuing and circulating the confessions of corrupt officials within the units where they committed their offences is to make the negative examples serve as a lesson in the democratic life meetings of leading groups during the campaign of "Two Studies, One Action" – namely "studying the Party Constitution and regulations and studying and implementing the spirit of a series of important speeches made by General Secretary Xi Jinping, and being a qualified Party member."
The approach is also to educate the wider public through highlighting the negative examples, and thus to effectively achieve the aim of rectification improvement. In the next step, we will open a special column on this topic in the CCDI's media outlet, and we will gradually make the confessions of corrupt officials open to the public before the 19th CPC National Congress. Thank you.
Today's ria novosti news agency (Russia):
By November 2016, China had hunted down a total of 2,442 fugitives in 81 countries and regions and reclaimed a total of 8.54 billion yuan (about US$1.23 billion). I would like to ask: what measures has the Chinese government taken to punish corrupt officials fleeing overseas? What do you think of the situation regarding the second round of the anti-corruption drive in 2017?
Liu Jianchao:
The numbers you mentioned just now were the numbers of corrupt officials we hunted down and the stolen money and property we managed to reclaim from 2014 to November 2016. Actually, from 2014 to the end of 2016, a total of 2,566 fugitives were hunted down in more than 70 countries, 37 of whom were on the list of the 100 "most wanted" persons. We also made considerable progress in the last month of 2016, so that the 8.54 billion yuan you mentioned just now has become 8.64 billion yuan. This is the latest situation in reclaiming stolen money and property.
The number of additional fugitives fleeing overseas has declined by a big margin year-on- year. The number reached 101 in 2014, dropping to 31 in 2015 and then 19 in 2016. So, it can be seen that reclaiming stolen money and property is a very important part in the anti-corruption drive, and it has played an important role in curbing the incidence and spread of corruption.
We have worked closely with law enforcement agencies in relevant countries, and a very important point is based on political will. Adapting an old saying, as long as there is the political will, there is a way in law. In this regard, I believe we will continue to deepen law enforcement cooperation with other countries in tackling corruption, so that more fugitives fleeing overseas can be brought to justice. At the same time, I would like to emphasize that China's hunting down corrupt officials and reclaiming the stolen money and property has always been in strict accordance with the law, and has been conducted strictly in accordance with legal procedures. Thank you.