Punishment of lawyers top achievement: China

BEIJING: China on Sunday boasted harsh punishments meted out to rights defenders was the legal system´s top accomplishment last year, as the country reported a jump in the number of corruption cases tried in its courts.

Activists and lawyers are a constant thorn in the side of Beijing and are often accused of being in cahoots with foreign organisations trying to undermine national security and stir up opposition to the government.

In an annual report to China´s rubber-stamp parliament, Chief Justice Zhou Qiang said the "severe punishment of the crime of endangering state security" committed by rights defenders was a key achievement in 2016.

It ranked as the leading item in a list of measures taken last year to "safeguard human rights" in China.

Among the rights defenders punished and singled out for mention in the report was prominent lawyer Zhou Shifeng, who in August was sentenced to seven years in prison for "subversion".

His Fengrui law firm was known for taking on cases considered sensitive by the ruling Communist Party, such as those of dissident scholars, victims of sexual abuse and members of banned religious groups.

The number of corruption cases tried in China´s courts last year rose by about a third from 2015, chief justice Zhou said, vowing the country would maintain the momentum of President Xi Jinping´s anti-graft campaign.