68,509 officials punished for violating frugality rules from Jan to Oct

BEIJING -- China's top anti-graft body said a total of 68,509 officials were punished for violating frugality rules in the first ten months of 2018.

The officials were involved in 48,456 cases, said the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) and the National Supervisory Commission in a statement.

On Dec 4, 2012, the CPC introduced an eight-point frugality rule on work style, requiring officials to condense meetings, reduce ceremonies and exercise thriftiness.

The CCDI has a monthly reporting system on the implementation of the austerity rules within provincial-level governments, central Party and government agencies, centrally administered State-owned enterprises, and central financial institutions.

On Oct 27, 2017, the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee reviewed a document, which listed out detailed requirements of rules, to better and further implement the frugality rules nationwide.

Last year, more than 71,000 officials were punished for such violations.