【专题】慢速英语（英音版）2015-03-16

This is NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Here is the news. China's commitment to purging corruption did not cease when the country's political high season began this month. The annual sessions of the top legislature and the top advisory body were held earlier this month to discuss ambitious plans for this year. It was widely believed by political observers in China that news about corrupt officials was unlikely to be published during such major meetings as the "two sessions". But it is no longer the case since the current leadership took office in 2012. It declared a high-profile anti-graft crackdown that has ensnared top generals and party officials. Much to the public's surprise, military authorities released a list of 14 generals convicted of graft or placed under investigation. The list was released on March 2, one day before the opening of the top advisory body session. The exposure of military corruption did not come alone. China's top anti-graft body announced a senior official in north China's Hebei Province has been put under investigation. The official is investigated for "suspected serious discipline and law violations". Meanwhile, local anti-graft bodies continued to name corrupt officials as the political sessions were underway. This is NEWS Plus Special English. Almost 250 justice officials in China were punished last year for their roles in illegally granting parole or shortening prison terms for convicts. Foul play was found in 210 cases during a campaign that lasted from March to December last year. The campaign targeted justice officials who abused their power to grant parole, commutation of sentences or temporary discharge on disease, pregnancy or other conditions. There has been a public outcry in China in recent years over rich and powerful convicts who often served much shorter prison terms, or faked good behavior or poor health conditions. One high-profile case brought judicial corruption into the spotlight. Zhang Hai is the former board chairman of a Chinese beverage giant. Zhang was initially sentenced to 15 years in 2007 for misappropriation of corporate funds. He bribed prison and judicial officials, to have his sentence cut by five years in a second court trial. He also used illegal means to have his prison term reduced by more than four years while serving the sentence. China has focused its investigations on convicts who were former officials and members of criminal gangs, as well as those who committed financial crimes. This is NEWS Plus Special English. Almost 460,000 Chinese left China to study abroad last year. According to China's Ministry of Education, among these students, 21,000 were sponsored with public funds, 16,000 with funding by their employers, and the other 420,000 at their own expense. Last year, more than 360,000 students returned home from abroad. The number of students going abroad and returning home increased by 11 percent and 3 percent respectively, compared with the previous year. From 1978 when China started its opening-up policy, to last year, more than 3-and-a half million Chinese have been abroad to study. Two million of them have returned home after studying. As of the end of last year, almost 2 million Chinese students were studying abroad. A recent report from China's education authorities is suggesting it has become increasingly difficult for Chinese overseas students to find a job back in China. According to a blue paper released by the Ministry of Education, 85 percent of Chinese students studying overseas chose to return to China after graduation in 2013. The returnees have to compete with millions of university graduates every year, facing fierce competition in China.