37,000 officials punished for violating frugality rules in Jan -June

A total of 37,207 Chinese officials were punished in the first half of 2019 for violating frugality rules.

A total of 8,506 officials were punished in June, involved in 6,060 cases, said the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission in a statement.

Among those punished were 385 officials at prefecture or equivalent level, and 3,836 at the county or equivalent level.

Awarding an unauthorized allowance or bonus was the most common misdemeanor, followed by giving or accepting gifts and misuse of public funds for banquets.

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