No quota in lasting graft fight

A former high-ranking official on run arrives at Beijing Capital Airport on Dec 22, 2014, after he turned himself in to the police. [Photo/Website of Central Committee for Discipline Inspection]

The endeavor against corruption will be "on the road forever", Chinese leader Xi Jinping said on Tuesday. This once again emphasizes his views on fighting corruption and Party construction after his earlier comments were first released in a book published on Monday.

Xi said the Party should by no means swerve from its zero-tolerance attitude toward corruption, nor slacken its determination to treat this chronic disease with strong medicine, or reduce the punishments for wrongdoers.

"There is no quota, and no ceiling (in terms of official rank)" in the struggle against corruption, he said in the book.

Xi likes speaking from his heart in short powerful sentences, and his words send a strong signal to civil servants and Party members that there will be "no prohibited zone" in the fight against corruption and power abuse.

The book as well as his Tuesday speech are timely as some have been speculating the anti-corruption campaign will come to an end soon, since about 60 senior officials above the level of vice-minister and 100,000 lower-level officials have been or are being investigated.

Yet fighting corruption is not the patchwork replacing dishonest officials with honest ones, but is essential for good governance with the rule of law, as the Party has set strict disciplines for its members to behave and follow the law.

The strict systematic supervision over power and the constant high pressure for a clean and efficient government will become the norm in China. Xi has started building the nation, society and the market according to the law.