Graft-busting actions

Graft-busters have swept the military and civilian sectors, central and local governments, state-owned enterprises and public institutions. According to the website of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), about 50 officials at the provincial and ministerial level or higher have been investigated for corruption or other serious disciplinary violations since November 2012. In China's bureaucratic system, officials at this level and above are important decision makers on central and local affairs.

Another high-ranking official alongside Zhou was Xu Caihou, former vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission. The investigation into Xu ended and the prosecution process began in late October.

A majority of these "tigers," a popular term for high-ranking corrupt officials, were senior provincial officials and chief officials of provincial capitals.

Northern China's Shanxi Province has seen five members of the standing committee of the CPC Shanxi provincial committee, the province's top decision-making body, put under investigation for disciplinary violations.

There were senior officials of central government departments, such as Jiang Jiemin, head of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, and Li Dongsheng, vice minister of public security. Some were from state-owned enterprises and public institutions, such as Song Lin, former chairman of China Resources, and He Jiacheng, executive vice president of the Chinese Academy of Governance (CAG).

Discipline inspectors have also tightened their grasp on low-ranking corrupt officials, who have been dubbed "flies."

In the first half of this year, 84,000 officials nationwide received disciplinary punishment, a year-on-year rise of 30 percent, while prosecutors filed graft cases against 35,600 people from January to September. Some efforts might not be as sensational as sacking a heavyweight, but they have still made a profound impact.

Since 2013, the CPC central authorities have regularly dispatched anti-graft inspectors in teams to ministries, provincial governments, state-owned enterprises and public institutions. This year has seen three rounds of inspections, compared with two in 2013. The third round is under way at 13 state organizations, including the Ministry of Culture, China State Shipbuilding Corporation, China Unicom and Sinopec.

Inspectors report leads on possible graft to the CCDI after collecting information from local discipline inspectors and anti-graft agency officers, taking tips from the public and interviewing retired officials and former colleagues.