Details of 10 disciplinary cases released

China's top anti-corruption agency publicized on Tuesday what it said were 10 typical cases of officials who are being punished for violating rules on clean governance.

The officials were found guilty of breaking the "eight-point" rules, through such behavior as hosting lavish banquets at public expense and accepting gifts and overseas trips, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China said.

The eight-point rules, put forward by the CPC Central Committee in December 2012, require that officials lead frugal lifestyles and improve their work efficiency.

In one of the 10 cases, Fu Xiaoguang, an official at the provincial level in Heilong-jiang province, was demoted to department level as punishment for spending public funds on lavish banquets, the commission said.

On July 23, Fu and his relatives traveled to a Jingpo Lake scenic spot in Mudanjiang for sightseeing. During the trip, Meng Qing'an, director of the local forestry bureau, died after drinking alcohol with Fu, according to a report by China Central Television in November.

In another case, Wei Wenda, head of the hydrology and water resources bureau of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, was dismissed for accepting monetary gifts and wasting public funds by sponsoring games, the commission said.

Hu Chunhe, head of the provincial tobacco monopoly bureau in Guangdong, received an administrative warning for purchasing a luxury vehicle. The car has since been sold at public auction, according to the commission.

The anti-graft authorities issued a serious warning to Sun Guoqing, head of the planning department with the Ministry of Transport, who was found guilty of using public funds to play golf and for personal travel, the commission said.

The commission urged government officials to abide by the eight-point rules during the upcoming New Year's Day and Spring Festival holidays.

It is forbidden to buy post cards, fireworks or gifts with public funds for the holidays, the commission said earlier.

In all, 19,896 officials had been punished for violating the eight-point rules as of late October, the commission said earlier this month.

Meanwhile, a circular issued on Tuesday has put fresh impetus behind the Party's yearlong "mass line" campaign as the first phase nears its end by urging officials to enhance implementation of its tenets, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Officials should take a "serious" and "strict" attitude toward cleaning up four undesirable work styles — formalism, bureaucracy, hedonism and extravagance — according to the circular from the central leading group for the campaign.

Jiang Ming'an, a law professor at Peking University, said that the eight-point rules have effectively prevented many officials from wasting taxpayers' money.

The rules will continue to be implemented as they were written in the decisions of the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, which was held last month, Jiang said.

anbaijie@chinadaily.com.cn