[JURIST] Chinese prosecutors increased the number of corruption convictions against government officials by 30 percent in the past five years, according to a Monday report by Chinese Procurator-General Jia Chunwang [official profile, in Chinese] at the First Session of the 11th National People's Congress. Jia, who has headed the Supreme People's Procuratorate [official website, in Chinese] since 2003, said that prosecutors investigated 209,487 and convicted 116,627 individuals for corruption since 2003. Jia also highlighted other accomplishments, including increased prosecutorial discretion in not issuing arrest warrants or indictments for certain minor offenses.

China has recently taken a hard line on corruption, punishing several officials with lengthy prison terms and the death penalty [JURIST report]. In January, the Communist Party of China [official backgrounder] issued a list of "10 taboos" [JURIST report] for public officials as part of the government's attempt to fight corruption ahead of a reshuffling of provincial leadership posts. In December, a former prosecutor received a suspended death sentence [JURIST report] after being convicted of accepting bribes and embezzling money. Last September, a former official of the Agricultural Bank of China was executed [JURIST report] for taking bribes and embezzling nearly $2 million. AFP has more. Xinhua has local coverage, in Chinese.