Govt extravagance curbed by disciplinary body

BEIJING - China's disciplinary organs have canceled more than 2,500 seminars, ceremonies and forums since 2011 in a bid to curb official extravagances, senior leader He Guoqiang said Wednesday.

The achievement came after a special campaign was launched against excessive seminars, ceremonies and forums in a bid to curb government extravagances, said He, a Standing Committee member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, adding that the measures have saved 1.22 billion yuan ($192 million).

The authorities also sorted out 199,600 motor vehicles in government or Party organs that have been used in inappropriate ways, removing the registrations of more than 4,400 motor vehicles. The number of vehicles in central government departments has been cut by 35 percent, said He, also head of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

Official extravagances in China, especially expenditures on overseas travel, vehicles and official receptions, have garnered public attention in recent years, as many people believe that government departments spend too frivolously on these items.

Since 2011, central government departments, public institutions and some local governments have published their expenditures for public consumption on their websites in a bid to invite public supervision.

In the meantime, more than 400,000 construction projects have been inspected since 2009, from which 261,900 problems and irregularities were detected, He said.

In addition, a total of 25,800 cases concerning discipline and law violations have been investigated by disciplinary and supervision organs, for which 17,400 people were handed punitive treatments and more than 9,200 people were transferred to judicial organs for further handling, He added.