BEIJING, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee held a meeting Friday to study the current state of anti-corruption campaign and to make plans for combating corruption in 2009.

    The meeting, which was presided over by CPC Central Committee General Secretary Hu Jintao, agreed that the Third Plenary Session of the 17th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC will be held in January.

    At the meeting, the participants heard a report on the fight against corruption in 2008 delivered by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

    This year, the CPC has made remarkable achievements in fighting corruption while promoting the development of socialist economy, culture and society and the building of the Party itself, in accordance with the strategic arrangements made by of the 17th CPC Congress in late 2007.

    The meeting stressed that the anti-corruption drive faces new problems because certain departments and sectors are more vulnerable to corrupt activities.

    It urged the whole Party to persist in fighting corruption and increase efforts to deepen anti-corruption campaign.

    In 2009, the Party will strengthen a system for punishing and preventing corruption. The meeting called for implementing the Work Plan on Building the System of Perfecting and Preventing Corruption between 2008-2012.

    The Party vowed to make "substantial efforts to strengthen supervision over leading officials, main leaders in particular" in 2009.

Nearly 5,000 higher-level Chinese officials punished since Nov. 2007

    BEIJING, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- A disciplinary official said Friday that 4,960 Chinese officials above the county head level were punished during the year ended in November.

    The officials were involved in corruption, bribery, acting against the public interest and other breaches of discipline or the law, Gan Yisheng, deputy head of the Communist Party of China Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, told a press conference. Of the total, 801 were prosecuted, he said.  Full story