The Supreme People’s Procuratorate of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) revealed in its 2026 work report that in 2025, approximately 29,000 individuals were prosecuted for various official crimes, including 44 provincial and ministerial-level officials. This marked an increase of about 5,000 individuals compared to the 24,000 prosecuted in 2024, representing a 20% rise.
According to previously released data, in 2024, around 24,000 individuals were prosecuted for official crimes, including 34 provincial and ministerial-level officials. The data for 2025 indicated not only a phenomenon of “batch corruption” among grassroots officials but also an acceleration in the downfall of high-level officials. Retired insider Qin Yongliang (pseudonym) within the CCP system told reporters that the continuous rise in prosecution numbers was a sharp irony against the CCP’s claim of “overwhelming success” in anti-corruption efforts.
“This is not a sign of successful anti-corruption but rather solid evidence of systemic corruption within the bureaucratic structure. In a system lacking checks and balances, with the judiciary serving as a lackey, corruption has long been an inherent gene of the political power. More than a decade of anti-corruption efforts have not reduced but increased criminal numbers, indicating that this system is caught in a vicious cycle of escalating corruption and counteractions,” he stated.
The report from the Supreme Procuratorate revealed that in crucial sectors such as finance, state-owned enterprises, energy, and infrastructure development, a total of 9,174 public officials were prosecuted for official crimes in 2025. These industries, which control substantial public funds and state assets, have been a focus of the CCP’s anti-corruption campaign.
Qin Yongliang further explained to reporters that under the system of “party control over the economy,” the finance and state enterprise systems held vast resources but lacked independent auditing and media oversight, making it prone to fostering corrupt exchanges of power and money.
The report shed light on the collapse of grassroots governance under CCP rule: In 2025, 7,609 individuals were prosecuted for official crimes in areas affecting rural revitalization, healthcare, elderly care services, and even funeral management. Public funds originally intended for lifesaving and elderly care have now become loot for grassroots bureaucrats.
Chinese public advocate Sun Qin (pseudonym) pointed out to reporters that although the authorities dismissively refer to it as “corruption at the grassroots,” the essence lies in the increasingly thuggish and gang-like behavior of CCP grassroots political power.
“This is not just about the greed of individual grassroots officials but a systematic plunder of vital resources from the people by the CCP. When power can unabashedly devour pension funds, poverty alleviation subsidies, and medical allocations, it signifies that this regime has completely lost the most basic principles of governance ethics,” she remarked.
Apart from corrupt officials, a significant number of bribery cases involving individuals were prosecuted in 2025. The report revealed that numerous enterprises were forced into bribery whirlpools to secure construction projects, land quotas, loan resources, or so-called “policy convenience.” This exchange of benefits between officials and businesses has gradually become a norm in China’s economic operations.
A lawyer from Shanxi, Mr. Wang, astutely pointed out that the widespread bribery phenomenon fundamentally stems from the “systemic extortion” formed under the highly monopolized administrative power of the CCP.
He analyzed, “In a system where ‘the Party controls everything’ and resource allocation is completely manipulated in a black box by officials, enterprises find it extremely difficult to survive without resorting to connections and bribery. This is not just about individual businessmen’s moral decline but a corrupt black market forcibly created by the CCP system. As long as the CCP retains control over resource allocation, this game of ‘realizing power’ through plundering will not cease, ultimately burdening ordinary people who are exploited.”
The report highlighted a concerning statistic that in 2025, there was a significant increase in the number of cases investigating official crimes committed by judicial system personnel within the CCP. These individuals entrusted with enforcing the law frequently engage in crimes such as favoritism and abuse of power, further undermining the credibility of the legal system.
Lawyer Mr. Wang candidly remarked to reporters that this phenomenon of “law enforcers breaking the law” signifies that the CCP’s long-promoted concept of “governing the country by law” has degenerated into a political charade.
Simultaneously, data released by the CCP Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and National Supervision Commission showed that around 980,000 officials were disciplined in 2025, indicating a continued significant scale compared to approximately 890,000 in 2024. The Supreme Procuratorate stated in its report that it would further strengthen investigations into corruption cases in crucial areas such as finance, state-owned enterprises, and energy, while combating so-called “new types of corruption” and “hidden corruption.”
However, some analysts point out that without independent judiciary, media oversight, and institutional checks and balances, the CCP’s anti-corruption campaign will struggle to address the root issues.
Public opinion suggests that the CCP’s judicial system should serve as the ultimate safeguard of social justice, but this line of defense has transformed into a realm of power collusion and benefit exchanges. When the enforcers themselves become the primary perpetrators of illegal activities, the law becomes a tool for the bureaucratic elite to suppress dissidents and seize profits. This systemic judicial corruption not only erodes the credibility of the law but also exposes the legitimacy crisis of CCP rule.