A corruption case related to students’ meal fees caused a huge shock in early January when China Media Group (CMG) aired the special anti-corruption documentary “Anti-Corruption for the People.”
The documentary revealed that from August 2010 to December 2019, Qi Shiguo, then logistics director of the Seventh Primary School in Changchun City, Jilin Province, colluded with the Jilin Golf Catering Management Company to embezzle public funds by taking kickbacks from students’ meal fees.
Initially, Qi and others received a kickback of 10 cents from the eight-yuan (approximately $1.12) meal fee. When the fee rose to 12 yuan in 2014, the kickback increased to 30 cents.
These seemingly insignificant kickbacks of just a few cents added up to more than 700,000 yuan in embezzled meal fees over a period of more than nine years, with Qi personally receiving over 230,000 yuan.
To address public concern over students’ meals, last year, the National Commission of Supervision (NCS) guided supervisory and judicial authorities at all levels to investigate and resolve 38,000 cases of embezzlement of students’ meal funds, interference in bidding and procurement, and acceptance of kickbacks. As a result, 23,000 individuals were punished.
Fields of public concern
In reports submitted to the ongoing session of the 14th National People’s Congress, both the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) highlighted the country’s efforts last year to crack down on corruption in areas that cause grave public concern.
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Graphics: Key takeaways from Supreme People’s Procuratorate work report
Graphics: Key takeaways from China’s Supreme People’s Court work report
The SPP’s data showed that indictments in corruption areas critical to people’s livelihoods – including healthcare, education and employment – surged 1.6 times in 2024 compared to the previous year.
To combat corruption in the management of rural collective funds, assets and resources, the NCS guided authorities to investigate 153,000 cases of embezzlement and illegal disposal of collective assets, resulting in the punishment of 132,000 individuals.
Medical corruption, a major source of public dissatisfaction due to its impact on healthcare costs and doctor-patient relationships, has been a primary anti-corruption target.
In 2024, around 40,000 individuals faced disciplinary action for medical misconduct, with 2,634 serious violations referred to prosecutors for further investigation, according to the NCS.
The crackdown in the medical sector has yielded tangible results, with medical insurance departments recovering 24.2 billion yuan in misappropriated funds. Compared to 2022, average discharge costs in public hospitals dropped by 5.7 percent, while medication costs fell by 12.1 percent.
Saturday’s SPC report mentioned corruption scandals in the sports sector, including the sentencing of Li Tie, former head coach of the national men’s football team, to 20 years in prison. In May 2024, Gou Zhongwen, former head of the General Administration of Sport (GAS), was placed under investigation and arrested in December on charges of bribery and abuse of power.
The NCS has also launched a one-year special operation to address corruption and misconduct in the funeral services sector, which began in November last year.
For this year, the NCS announced special campaigns focusing on the supervision of fund usage for rural revitalization, management of medical insurance funds, and addressing prominent issues in elderly care services.