The CPC's punishments were very severe back then because of the hard economic times that China was going through, according to historian Ling Buji. Ling said that those actions showed the Party's determination to eradicate corruption and helped to win the support of the people.

The crackdown on graft "purified" the Party and laid the foundation for the CPC's later triumphs, according to Ling.

"The Red Army, led by Commander Zhu De and Chairman Mao, was very disciplined. It won the trust of farmers and businessmen who swarmed to Jinggangshan to make their living, bringing prosperity and precious wartime resources. Some even joined the army," said Mao Binghua, curator of the Jinggangshan Revolution Museum.

In the 1950s, Liu Qingshan and Zhang Zishan, two senior officials who contributed to the founding of the People's Republic, were sentenced to death for graft.

"Only by executing them can we save dozens, hundreds, thousands and tens of thousands of cadres who have erred," Chairman Mao said.

"Corruption is against the fundamental principals of the CPC, which states that the party must serve the people whole-heartedly," said Dai Yanjun, deputy head of the party-building department of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee.

Although corruption is a common problem for all of the world's ruling parties, the CPC, which rules for the people, must step up its efforts to eliminate corruption. "No punishment is too harsh for graft," Dai said.