Amid the Xi administration’s ongoing crackdown on Party corruption, anti-graft authorities have identified thousands of “naked officials“—Party bureaucrats who funnel ill-gotten gains to family members living abroad. According to state media, about 1,000 “naked officials” have now been demoted. Reuters Sui-Lee Wee reports:
Authorities in China have demoted about 1,000 government officials with relatives abroad who refused to return home, state media said on Monday, in the latest clamp down in a sweeping anti-corruption campaign.
[…] Authorities had identified more than 3,200 officials at county-level or above, with children or spouses who have emigrated abroad, the Xinhua state news agency, citing the Organization Department of the party’s Central Committee.
[…] “Personnel departments nationwide have held talks with ‘naked officials’ and asked them to choose between accepting less sensitive posts or bringing their families back to China,” Xinhua said.
“Those who refused have been disciplined and personnel departments will monitor ‘naked officials’ on a regular basis in the future.” […] [Source]
In June, an investigation in Guangdong discovered over 1,000 “naked officials.” The Telegraph’s Tom Phillips notes that the southern province’s anti-graft agency has forbidden officials from playing golf while on duty with an order titled “strictly guard against golf club corruption.”
After Xi’s rise to the pinnacle of Party power in 2012, he pledged to fight against corruption at all levels of the Party. This month saw the highest level indictment and sentencing of the anti-graft campaign so far: former deputy head of the NDRC Liu Tienan was sentenced to life in prison, and retired domestic security chief and Zhou Yongkang was formally indicted after a long investigation saw hundreds tied to him investigated or detained. As Xi’s war against corruption wages on, data from global anti-graft watchdog Transparency International suggests corruption may be worsening in China.
