China's top audit body said it would audit all central government, Party departments and State-funded institutions after it disclosed embezzlement of public funds among some central government departments, China Youth Daily reported Tuesday.

Zhang Qiuxia, a director with the National Audit Office (NAO), said the administration will audit departments and institutions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and the central government, top legislature and national political and non-governmental organizations funded by the central government.

Until last year, NAO only audited departments and institutions of the State Council, the cabinet, the director said in an interview with Oriental Outlook Weekly.

On June 24, Auditor-General Li Jinhua told the national legislature that embezzlement of public funds was found in 55 ministries and commissions under the State Council, which drew attention from Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and the general public.

According to the auditing report, 41 ministries and commissions appropriated as much as 1.42 billion yuan (US$171.56 million) of funds dedicated to special projects for the construction of residential and office buildings for their own use.

In response, Premier Wen called on all the departments under the State Council, governments at all levels and enterprises to draw lessons from the serious problems uncovered by the audit office in its auditing of the implementation of the 2003 central budget, according to the Monday edition of the People's Daily, the mouthpiece of the Communist Party of China.

Wen was quoted as saying all the persons who violated the laws and regulations must be "dealt with seriously", and promised the State Council would make a special report on what had been done to settle these problems to the country's top legislature at the end of this year.

(Xinhua News Agency July 7, 2004)