NANCHANG -- Liu Jiaqi, a 98-year-old Red Army veteran, was infuriated as he watched court proceedings concerning a mayor in central China.

The court in Zhengzhou, Henan Province sentenced Xu Zongheng, former mayor of the city of Shenzhen in south China, to death with a two-year reprieve on Monday for taking bribes of more than 33 million yuan (5 million U.S. dollars).

"The cause of the Communist Party of China's (CPC) revolution was never meant for personal gain," Liu said.

As the CPC approaches the 90th anniversary of its founding, it is continuing its pledge to root out corruption.

The party's dedication to fighting corruption goes back to October 1927, when Chairman Mao Zedong stood on a rock in the Jinggangshan Mountains and announced the Red Army's "Three Disciplines" -- act on orders, hand over confiscated goods to the proper authorities and take nothing from the people.

The rock on which Chairman Mao stood, known as "Thunderbolt Rock", sees annual gatherings of officials-in-training from the China Executive Leadership Academy in Jinggangshan. There, the officials-to-be listen to the story of the "Three Disciplines" to remind them of the Party's long-standing opposition to graft.

In the old days, CPC members were punished for accepting gifts and bribes, Liu recalled.