| 
Chief Justice Zhou Qiang delivers a work report of the Supreme People's Court (SPC) at the third plenary meeting of the second session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 12, 2019. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei) BEIJING, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Chinese judicial and procuratorial organs have maintained high pressure on law violations, ranging from graft, local mafia to "Peppa Pig" copyright infringement, to safeguard justice, social stability and development. The judiciary also endeavors to serve the country's all-round opening-up, the Belt and Road Initiative, and high-quality development, according to the work reports of the Supreme People's Court (SPC) and the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) to the on-going annual national legislative session Tuesday. Chief Justice Zhou Qiang and Procurator-General Zhang Jun highlighted progress made in the past year when delivering the reports. "The top court has punished crimes, protected the people, and resolutely safeguarded national security and social stability in accordance with law," Zhou said. The SPC handled 34,794 cases in 2018 and concluded 31,883 cases, up 22.1 percent and 23.5 percent year on year respectively. Local courts saw an increase of 8.8 percent and 10.6 percent in the cases they handled and concluded. The top procuratorate has "based its work on people's increasing demands for democracy, rule of law, fairness and justice, security, and a better environment in a new era," Zhang said. Amid unwavering resolve to bring the corrupt to justice, Chinese courts concluded 28,000 graft cases involving embezzlement, bribery and dereliction of duty last year. Among the 33,000 people involved were 18 former officials at the provincial-level and above. Meanwhile, 32 such former high-ranking officials, including Sun Zhengcai and Wang Sanyun, were charged. | 
News