The Chinese government has worked in recent years to reform their judicial system and combat corruption. Last May, the SPC issued a directive [JURIST report] instituting new harsher penalties under the criminal law for violations of food safety crimes. In December 2010, a former Chinese corruption official was executed for accepting more than 4.7 million USD in bribes in return for mining contracts and job promotions. In September 2010, a member of the NPC announced that the government did not consider removing the death penalty [JURIST report] as a punishment for corruption. That summer, the Chinese government executed a top judicial official [JURIST report] after it was revealed he accepted bribes and had been protecting a number of organized crime gangs. In March 2010, the Hebei Province People's High Court upheld a life sentence for former vice president of the SPC who had been convicted [JURIST reports] of bribery and embezzlement. Earlier that month, the SPC president called for increased efforts to fight corruption [JURIST report] in the country's court system. In January 2010, the SPC announced new anti-corruption rules [JURIST report] in an effort to increase public confidence in the rule of law.