China to publish anti-graft book

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The school where the Chinese Communist Party trains its officials is set to publish a textbook on combating corruption, state media has said.

The book will be the "first systematic, formal and exclusive textbook" against graft in the school's history, a director told the China Daily.

Work on the book began after President Hu Jintao called for better education on the issue in a speech in December.

The Communist Party views corruption as one of its most serious challenges.

The authorities have warned that the levels of graft are now so high that they might even threaten the party's rule.

China's top prosecutor, Jia Chunwang, told lawmakers earlier this month that nearly 30,000 officials had been indicted on corruption charges in 2006.

In one of the most high profile cases, Shanghai's Communist Party chief, Chen Liangyu, was sacked after being implicated in the misuse of Shanghai's 10bn yuan ($1.29 bn) pension fund.

The country's top statistician has also lost his job over graft allegations, along with the organiser of China's Formula One racing contest.

Corruption has also become one of the main causes of social discontent, especially in the countryside, where villagers can find themselves the victims of corrupt land deals and unethical behaviour by local government officials.