Company had 24 'naked officials', authorities say

Twenty-four officials at State-run China State Construction Engineering Corp have been identified as "naked officials" - officials who live in China while their spouses or children live as permanent residents abroad, either by visa or citizenship.

During an inspection tour arranged by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the nation's top anti-graft authority, from Feb 28 to April 29, inspectors looked into the company's approximately 4,300 executives and department heads and the status of their family members.

Under newly revised administrative rules, the 24 officials who were identified must choose between their families' nationalities or keeping their current posts at the company.

In January last year, a revision of rules on the promotion and appointment of senior officials included regulations under which an official is barred from promotion if his or her spouse is living permanently abroad or, in the case of no spouse, any of the official's children live permanently abroad.

The company said in a statement on Saturday that 23 of the individuals have been removed from their posts, including those involving personnel, finance and procurement. They have been reassigned to other posts - for example, in the construction and engineering sectors.

One official said his wife is in the process of restoring her Chinese citizenship. Consequently, he retained his post.

The inspection was part of an effort to rectify wrongdoing found by the CCDI, the company said.

According to a report by Xinhua News Agency, the Guangdong committee of the Communist Party of China found in June that the spouses or children of more than 1,000 officials had emigrated. The report cited sources in the CPC's organization department who said the investigation was undertaken after an alert from a central disciplinary inspection team that an unusual number of naked officials worked in Guangdong, and that action was needed.

During the overhaul, those who refused to bring back their families were required to quit their jobs or accept demotion.

Apart from the 24 officials who were found to have violated the administrative rules, 16 others were found to have practiced nepotism in promotion. Six were shifted to other departments, and 10 others are awaiting new job assignments, the statement said.

The company added that the spouses or children of 143 officials were running their own companies, but only one had been found to have misused his or her position in granting projects to others. No details were provided.

That official, who was head of a division, has been removed and was given a disciplinary warning, the company said.

zhangyi@chinadaily.com.cn