Hundreds of Communist party officials in southern China have been forced to accept demotions after being caught up in President Xi Jinping’s latest anti-corruption campaign – a clampdown on “naked officials”.
Xinhua, the state-run news agency, reported at the weekend that Guangdong had found more than 1,000 cases of “naked officials” – the term for cadres whose spouses and children live overseas – in an investigation. It said 200 provincial employees had asked their families to return, while another 866 officials had agreed to accept demotions instead as punishment.
The “naked official” phenomenon has become synonymous with corruption in China, as people ask how officials on meagre salaries can afford to support their family members overseas.