Prosecutors combat grassroots corruption

China's top prosecutors have ramped up efforts to combat corruption at the grassroots level, particularly in healthcare, education and employment, as these areas directly impact people's daily lives, officials from the Supreme People's Procuratorate said.

More than 3,000 people were prosecuted in 2024 for dereliction of duty in these sectors, a 1.6-fold increase from the previous year, according to statistics released on Tuesday by the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

Procuratorial authorities have focused on tackling corruption linked to people's livelihoods and rural revitalization, said Zhang Xiaojin, head of the procuratorate's division on duty-related crimes.

To address public concerns over corruption in the healthcare sector, which has made medical treatment more difficult and expensive, prosecutors have targeted offenses such as taking kickbacks and embezzling health insurance funds. As a result, more than 1,800 individuals in the healthcare industry were prosecuted for duty-related crimes, Zhang said.

In March 2024, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Supreme People's Court and the Ministry of Public Security issued a guideline on handling health insurance fraud cases to step up enforcement against such offenses, which have been on the rise.

The guideline states that conspirators involved in fraud schemes carried out by medical institutions, such as fabricating medical services and falsifying medical bills, will be prosecuted.

Individuals who illegally receive health insurance refunds through fraudulent means, including by using others' medical insurance certificates, will also face punishment.

Meanwhile, more than 1,200 people from township and village organizations were prosecuted for duty-related crimes last year, marking a 48.5 percent year-on-year increase.

"Punishing corruption crimes that affect the public is also a way of protecting people's livelihoods," Zhang said.

To further safeguard public interests, procuratorial authorities nationwide handled more than 92,000 public interest litigation cases from January to November last year in areas such as food and drug safety, the rights of vulnerable groups, and the security of citizens' personal information, according to Xu Xiangchun, director of the Supreme People's Procuratorate's Public Interest Litigation Procuratorate Office.

"Public interest is the interest of the people. The procuratorial public interest litigation system is closely tied to daily life," Xu said in an interview on Wednesday.

"In 2024, prosecutors focused on public concerns, actively responded to livelihood issues, and handled cases in a precise and law-abiding manner."

In one case, the Qinghai Provincial People's Procuratorate filed administrative public interest litigation against more than 60 express delivery companies for failing to legally contribute to work injury insurance for couriers, strengthening labor protections.

In another case, the procuratorial office in Tianfu New Area in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, urged administrative bodies to revise village autonomy regulations in eight villages that violated women's rights.