CCTV9英语新闻：Judicial chiefs pledge firm hand on security threats（在线收听）

Zhou Qiang, head of the Supreme People's Court, and Cao Jianming, Procurator-General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate,  have respectively delivered their work reports to the National People's Congress deputies. They said the country had maintained "high pressure" on corruption,  and pledged a firm offensive against threats of state security. Hou Na tells us more. 

The toughest year in corruption crackdowns. 22 ex-officials at ministerial level or above, including former member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee Zhou Yongkang, were prosecuted in 2015.

"The People's courts at all levels concluded 34-thousand graft trials, with 49-thousand people involved. The accused included 134 former officials at prefecture level and above. And we have improved the trial process against corrupt officials who have fled China in line with the law, and taken active part in pursuing fugitives and recovering assets," Zhou said.

"The procuratorial organs have highlighted investigating and prosecuting major graft cases. 41 ex-officials at ministerial level and above were investigated by prosecutors in accordance with the law," Cao said.

As the country adopted its first National Security Law and counter-terrorism Law, the judicial system pledged a firm offensive against threats to state security.

Chief Justice Zhou Qiang stressed the importance of maintaining national security. Last year, Chinese courts convicted 1,419 criminals harming state security, including those taking part in terrorist attacks and secessionist activities, in 1,084 cases. Zhou pledged in the report that Chinese courts will well implement the laws on state security and counter-terrorism and severely punish terrorists and secessionists.

Meanwhile, China has been experimenting with cross-regional jurisdiction to reduce judicial interference, with pilot procuratorates in Beijing and Shanghai.

Judicial authorities vow to build a dynamic, transparent and people-friendly mechanism in the coming reforms.