The use of power by top officials needs to be curbed and supervised as part of China's fight against corruption, the disciplinary organ of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has said.

Some leading officials have used their power to obtain personal gain and put their positions above Party organs or governments, according to a statement released by the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) on Wednesday.

Among cadres punished by the CCDI in recent years at or above county level, more than one third are leading officials, or heads of governments or Party organs. Some are high-ranking officials, the statement said.

The CCDI did not detail the number of officials punished, but Cao Jianming, procurator-general of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, said in October that 198,781 people were investigated in graft cases from January 2008 to August this year.

The CCDI mentioned former Minister of Railways Liu Zhijun, former Party chief of Shanghai Chen Liangyu, and Bo Xilai, former Party chief of Chongqing, adding they had seriously damaged the Party's image.

The central authorities have demanded better supervision and restriction on leading officials' use of power, it said, quoting a key decision approved at the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee in November.

President Xi Jinping has also repeatedly urged officials, especially leading ones, to shoulder responsibilities and behave themselves in order to build a clean government, it continued.

The higher an official's level is and the greater an official's power is, the more urgent for him to be supervised, the CCDI said in the statement. An effective way to restrain power is to form a mutual-supervision system within the leadership.

Leading officials of governments at various levels should be given fixed work, power and responsibilities. They should have limited power in intervening in other affairs and promoting subordinate officials, it said.

It praised the "deputy heads" practice, in which leading officials only guide and supervise and do not directly handle specific government affairs. Those affairs are all handed down to deputy heads.

The CCDI said law enforcement departments and audit authorities would strengthen supervision to ensure power is exerted transparently and in line with the law.

The audit supervision mainly targets how leading officials implement various economic decisions and policies. It should also uncover officials' power abuse in major construction projects and when public funds are involved, it said.

Public and online supervision should also be improved, said the CCDI. Officials should accept such supervision and create more channels for people to supervise. Officials should never abuse their power by taking revenge against people who are supervising.

The CCDI noted that the Internet is an important platform for people to supervise and uncover corrupt officials, but it needs to be regulated as online rumors are rampant in cyber space.

The disciplinary organ promised that it will conduct fast investigations regarding officials' corruption cases, and will also punish those who fabricate or spread rumors to slander officials.