Junior officials punished for anti-bureaucracy violations

The disciplinary watchdog of the Communist Party of China (CPC) named and shamed 161 officials who violated anti-bureaucracy and formalism guidelines late on Sunday in a weekly report on its website.

The violators were reported by discipline inspectors in 28 provincial regions and Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps from Aug 18 to Aug 24.

It is also the first time for Tibet Autonomous Region to report violation cases, leaving no mainland provincial regions immune from violations.

Aside from private use of official vehicles, violations also include holding weddings and funerals for gift money, using public funds for tourism, absenteeism and attending expensive entertainment activities.

As the Mid-Autumn Festival draws near, inspectors also paid attention to officials who spend public funds on buying and giving mooncakes.

All the published officials serve at the county level or below, a sign that there is deep-rooted extravagance and formalism among lower-level officials.

Violators were given penalties ranging from Party warnings to expulsion from the CPC, demotion, and removal from official posts, according to the report.

The "eight-point" anti-bureaucracy and formalism rules were introduced by the CPC top leadership in December 2012. They ordered CPC officials to reduce pomp, ceremony, bureaucratic visits and meetings.