Around 300,000 government officials were punished last year for graft and corruption by Beijing, China's ruling Communist Party said.

Out of the staggering figure, some 200,000 officials were meted out 'light punishment', while 80,000 were slapped with more severe penalties after they were found to have violated anti-corruption laws.

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President Xi Jinping, upon assuming office in 2013, made the fight against corruption the centerpiece of his agenda.

                                                           High-profile

Xi's anti-corruption campaign has netted powerful and high-profile political figures over the years. It, however, failed to capture many financial fugitives who have fled China and sought refuge with countries that Beijing has no extradition treaty with.

Beijing launched the Operation Skynet last year to arrest up to 100 economic fugitives who are living freely in other parts of the globe. Beijing has successfully extradited some fugitives, while some have voluntarily surrendered  to Chinese authorities.

                                                          Daily reports

Xinhua notes that there have been almost daily reports in the state media of officials being investigated or punished over allegations of bribery, abuse of power or other corrupt practices.

China's official corruption watchdog - the Central Committee for Discipline Inspection - has failed to let the pubic in on the details of most of these cases.

Reports indicate that a majority of the officials apprehended in 2015 for corruption were released ahead of the opening session of the National People's Congress last week Saturday

                                                          Reminder

Analysts say the release was a reminder to the delegates of the NPC that Beijing will continue pursuing corrupt government officials.

Observers agree that President Xi's anti-corruption campaign is an attempt to rein in government officials who have become too influential or too powerful.

Since the anti-corruption campaign began, several multi-millionaires have been slapped with long jail terms for committing fraud in the financial industry.

Tagsgraft and corruption, corruption watchdog, financial fugitives, government officials, china