20,000 officials investigated for violating citizens' rights

A campaign spearheaded by procuratorial agencies, targeting crimes committed by officials that directly affect the rights of citizens, has resulted in 20,403 officials being investigated.

The Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) on Friday announced in a statement that 14,521 cases of misconduct were processed from January 2013 to November 2014.

The statement said the campaign focused on misappropriation of government funds and dereliction of duty that resulted in damage to the environment, food and drug safety or legal justice.

Among those investigated, 641 were at the county level or above, including Tong Mingqian and Chen Baihuai, two provincial-level officials, the SPP said.

The investigation will continue, with a focus on dereliction of duty and government investment supervision, energy resources conservation, environmental pollution control and the use of public funds to improve the people's livelihoods, employment and affordable housing development.

Also, officials' conduct related to the security of state-owned assets and reform measures rolled out to improve state-owned enterprises will also be put under strict scrutiny, it added.