'Red envelope' gifts bring challenge to graft-busters

Government officials must be alert for WeChat bribes, however small they may be, expert warns

"Red envelope" gifts via mobile devices, popular in China during festivals, have brought a new challenge in the fight against corruption.

Cheng Wenhao, director of the Anti-Corruption and Governance Research Center at Tsinghua University, said that passing money on the instant messaging tool WeChat "may be a disguised gift to someone close to officials who can help solve a problem for them".