The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) recently issued a statement that highlights the prevalence of disciplinary violations and illegal activities of officials outside of their regular eight-hour work shifts, calling for an expansion of oversight “beyond the (working) eight hours.” The CCDI also outlined certain measures adopted by some local governments to monitor their officials outside of working hours.
A political commentator has suggested that the CCDI’s approach misidentifies the fundamental issue at play: the problem of corruption among officials is deeply rooted in the CCP’s system which often enables officials to wield power beyond the law, misuse public resources, operate with little transparency, and evade public scrutiny. According to this analysis, this unregulated use of power during official working hours has led to misconducts outside of working hours.
Sources:
1. Sichuan Online, September 18, 2023
https://focus.scol.com.cn/zgsz/202309/58975119.html
2. Epoch Times, September 18, 2023
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/23/9/18/n14076309.htm