China's Supreme People's Procuratorate delivered the annual work report during the first session of the 14th National People's Congress on Tuesday in Beijing, which elaborate on the work procuratorial authorities have done over the past five years and shows the tasks they will prioritize in 2023.

The number of prosecutions over homicide, arson, explosion, kidnap, robbery and theft in 2022 fell to the lowest level in nearly two decades, which have pointed to a continuous improvement in the social order, the report said.

Between 2018 and 2022, China has increasingly used public interest litigation to protect the natural environment. About 756,000 cases of civil and administrative public interest litigation were filed during the period, marking an average annual increase of 14.6 percent.

During the period, procuratorial authorities have made all-out efforts to crack down on mafia-nature organized crimes, having prosecuted 265,000 people, according to the report.

The report also said China has effectively curbed serious violent crimes during the period, and a total of 814,000 people were prosecuted over such crimes, a drop of 31.7 percent from the previous five years.

China's procuratorial authorities will fully leverage the rule of law to facilitate high-quality development in 2023, enhance protection on intellectual property rights, and step up judicial protection of the ecological environment, the report said.

(Text written by Yao Nian; data edited by Sun Yiwen; graphics designed by Mukesh Mohanan)