According to Cao Bochun, Party secretary of the autonomous region, prosecutors in Guangxi investigated and successfully prosecuted 14 officials at the prefectural level, 135 at the county level and 317 in judicial departments since 1998, in the ongoing crackdown on corruption.

Sources with the prosecutors indicate the number of cases involving embezzlement, bribery and neglect of duty has been increasing rapidly.

From January to October this year, the figure was 1,121, an increase of 17.5 percent over the same period of last year.

The crackdown on corruption is focused on state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in Liuzhou, where SOEs account for 80 percent of the gross national product.

Since 1995, more than 300 corruption cases have been filed, 60 percent of which occurred in SOEs.

"This shows the government's firm determination to eradicate corruption," said Jiang Pu, deputy chief prosecutor of the autonomous region.

Besides the crackdown on corruption, the prosecution departments also enforce various corruption prevention measures.

These include opening telephone hotlines for informers, giving lectures on particular cases and relevant legal provisions for government officials and business chiefs, and sponsoring anti-corruption symposiums.

Guangxi, one of the country's five autonomous regions, lags behind the eastern coastal regions in economic and cultural development.

(China Daily 12/18/2000)