China officials taken on prison visits in warning against corruption

[SHANGHAI] Chinese authorities have taken government officials and members of their families on tours of prisons as a "warning" against corruption, the official China Daily newspaper reported on Monday, citing the country's top disciplinary body.

In China's eastern Hubei province, 70 Communist Party leaders, senior officials and their spouses "visited ex-officials in the city prison and spent a day in jail as an educational warning", the newspaper said.

President Xi Jinping has made weeding out corruption a top priority since coming to power more than two years ago, investigating and arresting senior government officials, military chiefs and business leaders.

The prison tours, which included visiting former colleagues and bosses imprisoned for bribery and abuse of power, were a blunt reminder from Beijing against corruption.

The China Daily said photos of interrogations were hanging on prison walls for visitors to see. "It's a striking image to have watched the ex-officials showing their deep repentance while they serve their sentences in prison," the paper quoted one Hubei official as saying.

The Central Commission of Disciplinary Inspection said the visits were organised to remind officials to "be aware of wrongdoing involving corruption", the China Daily said.

It said this month some members of China's armed forces were not taking the fight against corruption seriously. Some military officers have said graft is so pervasive it could undermine China's ability to wage war.

REUTERS