【专题】慢速英语（英音版）0803

完整文稿请看周六的微信~This is NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Here is the news.National prosecuting departments will boost efforts to investigate corruption among low-level "flies", or officials at county level or below, in an attempt to strengthen the grassroots.In recent years, the number of low-level officials investigated for corruption, especially those serving in county, township or village authorities, has risen sharply due to their weak legal awareness and loopholes in supervision.According to the authorities, from January 2013 to May this year, national prosecutors investigated 29,000 low-level officials on suspicion of corruption involving agriculture or poverty alleviation, accounting for 22 percent of the alleged graft cases. The approvals of projects, management of special funds and supplies, quality supervision and certification, and issuing subsidies have become the worst-hit areas for such crimes. This is NEWS Plus Special English.The Ministry of Environmental Protection is encouraging Chinese citizens to report officials failing to fulfill their duty to higher authorities.The ministry released a new regulation, stating that legal entities and other organizations have the right to report local government organs at all levels which have failed to fulfill their duty in accordance with the law to higher authorities or supervisory organs.Entitled "Measures for the Public Participating in Environmental Protection", the document supports and encourages the public to supervise environment-related public affairs.Whistleblowing channels include letters, fax, e-mail, telephone, and government websites.In the document, the ministry urged authorities receiving such complaints to protect whistleblowers' lawful interests, investigate in a timely manner, and inform them of how matters are being handled.The regulation, which will take effect on Sept. 1, called on special funds allocated as rewards for key whistleblowers. This is NEWS Plus Special English.