The Communist Party of China Central Commission for Discipline Inspection says a total of 58 officials at the provincial and ministerial level or higher were punished for discipline violations in 2017. The party's discipline inspection agencies nationwide hand out punishments to a total of 527-thousand people in 2017. These range from warnings and demotions, to expulsion from the party and removal from office. About 48-thousand officials were investigated or prosecuted for serious violations and suspected criminal activity.