ARMY inspection finds problems

The Central Military Commission uncovered irregularities in the army during a recent inspection tour, the People's Liberation Army Daily, the military's flagship newspaper, reported.

Two disciplinary teams carried out inspections in the military commands of Beijing and Jinan, Shandong province, from Dec 10 to March 13 in the first round of inspections to be sent by the commission, the newspaper said.

Inspectors found problems in officers' self-discipline, construction projects, land transfers, affordable housing purchases and medical systems in the commands, the report said.

The commission asked the military authorities involved to rectify the problems, the report said.

The issues that arose during the inspections were studied during a conference of military officers on Friday.

At the meeting, Xu Qiliang, vice-chairman of the commission, said the disciplinary inspection system in the PLA should be strengthened because of its strategic importance.

The Party committees that oversee large units and their members will be the focus of future inspection work, Xu said, adding that more efforts are needed to tackle corruption in areas where it is prone to occur.

Zhuang Deshui, deputy director of the Clean Governance Research Center at Peking University, told Beijing Youth Daily that the military inspection system is an innovative anti-graft mechanism and an important part of the fight against corruption required by the central government.

In recent years, army developments have had close relationships with local economic development - for example, low-income housing projects - that easily breed corruption, the paper quoted Zhuang as saying. Inspections can strengthen the military's anti-graft work while improving the army's credibility and battle effectiveness, he added.

- Cao Yin