Plan to boost monitoring of 'naked' officials to fight corruption

The Chinese government is strengthening its effort to monitor officials whose spouse and children live abroad, as such officials are prone to abuse power. The term "naked official" has been selected as one of China's top 10 buzzwords of 2009 by Chinese linguists. It refers to the officials whose family members have moved overseas, while they themselves work in the country usually with the other country's visa.

The phenomenon has attracted attention in the country because some of these officials have been found to be corrupt.

Zhou Jinhuo, former director of the Industry and Commerce Bureau of East China's Fujian Province, tried to flee overseas in June 2006, when he found himself being investigated for corruption. His wife had emigrated to the United States.

"It is reasonable to cast suspicion over the uprightness and honesty of officials who have arranged their family relatives to live abroad," said Zhong Li, a Beijing lawyer.

Professor Gong Weibin of the Chinese Academy of Governance proposed that officials should report the reasons why their family members went overseas, their financial sources and places where their family members live or work.

A communique, issued by the fifth plenary session of the 17th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of the Communist Party of China (CPC) this January, stipulates that officials should report their properties and investments, employment of their spouses and children, and authorities should monitor those officials whose family members have settled down in overseas.

The Shenzhen government issued a regulation in November 2009, stipulating that "naked officials" were prohibited from serving as leading officials.

As the annual sessions of the National People's Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) are ap-proaching, online surveys show that corruption remains the top concern among people.

Source - Global News