Society

Heavy Corruption and Malfeasance Penalties

Chinas disciplinary organs punished 232，000 officials at all levels in 2014， a yearly increase of 30 percent. The figures were revealed in a work report at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection （CCDI）.

Underlining an intensified nationwide disciplinary inspection campaign， disciplinary organs received from citizens a total of 2.72 million whistle-blowing letters and complaints in 2014， 1.95 million more than in 2013. They resulted in the filing of 226，000 cases， the closing of 218，000， and in the Party or administrative punishment of 232，000 officials. Such cases also led to the transference to judicial organs of 12，000 suspects on criminal charges.

Around 55，000 officials were prosecuted in 2014 for occupational crimes， including defalcation， bribery， and dereliction of duty.

China Becomes World No.2 Movie Market

The 2015 Yangtze Forum on Chinese Films announced that Chinas box office revenues totaled around US $4.8 billion in 2014， accounting for 13 percent of the world total of US $37.5 billion， giving China a global second ranking. The U.S. has pole position with US $10.35 billion， and the U.K. is in third place with US $1.73 billion.

China produced 618 films last year that earned RMB 16.1 billion in ticket sales， equaling that from imported movies. Box office takings in China have been swelling at an annual rate of 30 percent since 2003， boosting the world film market， according to deputy director-general Mao Yu of the supervisory arm for films of the State Administration of Press， Publication， Radio， Film and Television. But Mao cautioned that despite its achievements， Chinas film industry is still green and inept. Its only choice is to take future challenges head on and keep pressing forward.

Fifty Best Books of 2014

In a ballot co-sponsored by Xinhuanet.com and China Publishing & Media Journal， and supported by Amazon and jd.com， 50 titles were voted the most influential books in China of 2014. Six received the special award， including Xi Jinping， The Governance of China； 10 won the literary prize， including House of Cards； eight received the history prize， including 1944， Siege of Tengchong； eight won the finance prize， including The Shale Revolution； seven received the social science prize， including Smogtown： the Lung-Burning History of Pollution in Los Angeles； five won the livelihood prize， including My Travel Philosophy； and six won the childrens category prize， including The Fenglin Ferry. The ballot is now in its third year. On this occasion more than 300，000 people voted online.

Strong Tourism Growth

China made direct investment of RMB 680 billion in the tourism sector in 2014， a year-on-year growth of 32 percent， 15 percentage points higher than that for the tertiary industry， and 16.2 percentage points above the overall national investment growth. Li Jinzao， head of China National Tourism Administration， has predicted that Chinas direct investment in tourism will hit RMB 3 trillion in the coming three years， and attract during the period additional investment projects worth more than RMB 15 trillion. Hot investment areas include rural tourism， small scenic towns， large resorts， health-themed tourism， and tours catering to seniors. The growing trend of Chinese people traveling abroad has motivated more Chinese firms to invest in overseas tourism facilities. Tourism contributed an estimated seven percent to Chinese exports in 2013.