Chinese government vowed yesterday to strengthen campaigns against crimes, claimed progress in fighting corruption, stamping out terrorism and subduing Falun Gong cult, as well as other "evil crimes."

　　The country's top judge and top prosecutor, in reports to the ongoing National People's Congress in Beijing, acknowledged the problems the nation faces as society changes and pledged to step up efforts in fighting corruption.

　　"China's legal system has persistent problems of inefficiency and there are a handful of cases of corruption," Supreme Court Chief Justice Xiao Yang said. "We will take further effective measures to increase our supervision, strengthen our forces and spare no efforts to solve the problems."

　　Jia Chunwang, the country's chief prosecutor, told legislators that China had "advanced its fight against organized and evil crimes."

　　"We have resolutely attacked ethnic separatists, religious extremists, violent terrorists and Falun Gong and other types of criminal organized movements," Jia said.

　　Jia pledged to step up efforts this year to prevent job-related crimes and give the anti-corruption campaign more depth.

　　He urged attorneys at all levels to focus efforts on major cases such as bribery of government officials, administrative and judicial personnel and official umbrellas for organized criminal gangs. He also stressed vigilance in job-related crimes during the reform of state-owned enterprises, contracting for engineering projects, the leasing of land use rights and financial affairs.

　　The twin reports came as China fights a surge in corruption as well as violent crime and terrorism.

　　Chief Justice Xiao said six "ministerial-level officials" were sentenced last year for "job-related crimes." This included three former provincial governors or deputy governors, one former president of provincial higher court, a former vice chairman of a provincial committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and the former president of the China Construction Bank.

　　Punishment ranged from death sentence with a reprieve, life imprisonment, or 12 to 15 years behind bars.

　　They were among a group of 458 government workers sentenced on the same charges, said Xiao.

　　A total of 22,986 government officials at all levels were convicted of "job-related abuse," Xiao said without elaborating.

　　Jia said in his report to the parliament 39,562 job-related cases were prosecuted last year, involving 43,490 suspects. 4.3 billion yuan (US$516 million) of economic losses were recovered.

　　Jia admitted that lawyers at all levels had not done enough to check problems of unfairness in law enforcement and failed to implement laws, thus allowing some corruption cases at the grassroots to go unpunished. There were also cases of police officers violating the law, he said.

　　This year, the procuratorial organ "is determined to strike hard against corruption in law-enforcement and judicial areas," said Jia, adding last year 9,720 law-enforcement and judicial workers were investigated as suspects who took bribes and bent the law to serve friends or relatives.

　　Last year, Xiao said Chinese courts at all levels concluded investigation into 5,687,905 cases which involved a total sum of 768.5 billion yuan (US$92.6 billion), up 0.78 percent and 8.33 percent, respectively, from the previous year.

　　Of the total, 735,535 criminal cases were handled and 933,967 criminals were sentenced, a rise of 1.21 percent and 1.51 percent respectively.

　　Meanwhile, More than 300 people accused of everything from spreading rumors about SARS to selling fake medicine were tried last year.

　　(Xinhua/AP)