[JURIST] The Communist Party of China (CPC) [Global Security backgrounder] will increase its oversight [China Daily report] of the families of government officials to control corruption, the state-controlled China Daily [media website] reported Wednesday. A communique released Wednesday by the CPC's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection [official website, in Chinese], which is in charge of detecting and preventing corruption in the CPC, ordered other CPC organs to carefully monitor officials to make sure they are not accepting bribes or receiving improper gifts, according to the report. The communique also reportedly ordered increased compliance [China Daily report] with a 2006 family reporting regulation requiring senior officials to divulge an array of information about immediate family members, including where they are employed, their investments, and their holdings.

Chinese officials have faced a number of corruption scandals over the last year. Former vice president of China's Supreme People's Court (SPC) [official website, in Chinese] Huang Songyou stood trial [China Daily report] this week on corruption charges [JURIST report], making him the highest ranking judge to face corruption charges since the founding of the People's Republic of China. A verdict has not yet been reached. In November, former judge Wu Xiaoqing, who was awaiting trial on charges that he took bribes, was found dead [JURIST report] in his prison cell, reportedly a result of suicide. In March, SPC Chief Justice Wang Shengjun pledged to eliminate corruption [JURIST report] in the judiciary.