BEIJING - A total of 2,290 people have been punished for violating a rule that the Communist Party of China (CPC) introduced just under six months ago to fight bureaucracy and formalism, an official with the CPC disciplinary arm said on Friday.

Xu Chuanzhi, head of a department responsible for supervision of Party officials' work style under the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), made the remarks during a televised interview aired by the CPC official website.

At a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on December 4 last year, an eight-point rule was introduced for fighting bureaucracy and formalism and rejecting extravagance among party members.

To urge CPC and government organs to fully implement the regulations, disciplinary and supervision authorities nationwide have explored inspection and supervision methods to spot violations, Xu said.

He explained that a total of 2,665 violations have been investigated nationwide, and as a result 2,290 people have?to face?penalties of various degrees.

The leadership of the CCDI held meetings with disciplinary inspection chiefs at a total of 53 central government organs before May, calling for improved work style among government organs, the official added.

Wang Qishan, secretary of the CCDI, on Monday demanded disciplinary inspection and supervision staffers ditch all kinds of membership cards they received in various names, describing the move as a concrete method of "self-cleansing" for disciplinary inspection organs.

Xu said the move is intended to send a clear signal that the CPC disciplinary inspection system is putting into practice the bureaucracy and formalism-busting regulations.