China punishes over 152,000 officials for frugality violations in 10 months

BEIJING -- More than 152,000 Chinese officials were punished for violating frugality rules in the first 10 months of 2020, according to statistics released by the top anti-graft body.

The officials were involved in over 105,000 cases, according to the Communist Party of China Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission.

The punished officials included 530 at the prefecture or equivalent level and 8,416 at the county or equivalent level.

Authorities investigated over 42,000 cases of hedonism and extravagant conduct, such as giving or accepting gifts, misusing public funds for banquets and awarding unauthorized allowances or bonuses, with about 59,000 officials punished.

Moreover, officials in over 62,000 cases were punished for the practices of bureaucratism or formalities for formalities' sake.

The CPC released its eight-point rules on frugality in late 2012 to combat undesirable work practices.