‘Naked Officials’ Purged Before Chinese Communist Party’s 20th National Congress

Experts say the move is to prevent officials from fleeing a change of power

A man walks past a propaganda poster welcoming the Communist Party's 20th National Congress on a street in Beijing, Sept. 21, 2022. Jade Gao/AFP via Getty Images

Before the 20th congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) starts on Oct.16, a purge of “naked officials” occurred to prevent the cadres from leaving China. Experts say this maneuver indicates that the officials have no confidence in the prospects of the ruling regime.

“Naked officials” are officials within the Communist Party system who have sent their families and large sums of money from corruption to another country. The term signifies that they have stripped themselves of practically everything and can thus leave China at a moments notice and keep the embezzled money should the CCP fall.

Wang Dawei, former vice governor of Liaoning Province and former head of the Department of Public Security is one of the top officials caught in this round of investigations. In a Sept. 29 notice on the Discipline Inspection Commission’s website, Wang was named as guilty of corruption and called a “naked official” who used a fake marriage to conceal his identity in order to maintain power.

China expert and current affairs commentator Li Yanming told The Epoch Times that Wang attempted to cover up his status as a “naked official” even though he is a senior political and legal executive. Most officials would prepare their way out surreptitiously so they are ready to flee at any time.

The CCP expects such “naked officials” to resign from their official positions.

Official media People.cn reported on a regulation issued by the Central Organization Department in February 2014 that defined “naked officials” as state employees whose spouses and children have moved abroad, hence, those officials “... are not allowed to be the leading members of party and government organs, the principal positions of state-owned enterprises and institutions, or those involved in the military, diplomacy, national security, Confidential, and other important positions.”

Attendants stand near a picture of CCP leader Xi Jinping during an exhibition that showed the country's achievements during Xi's past two terms in office, in Beijing, Oct. 12, 2022, ahead of the 20th National Congress. Noel Celis/AFP via Getty Images

Li believes that the crackdown on “naked officials” before the twentieth congress is closely related to the upcoming change of government and reshuffling of personnel within the CCP.

A similar crackdown on “naked officials” occurred in 2013, shortly after Xi Jinping took office at the 18th Congress, Li said.

In 2014 alone, more than 3,200 “naked officials” were purged nationwide, according to People.cn on Dec. 16, 2014.

The Beijing Municipal Public Prosecutor’s Office revealed in 2014 that, in the three decades preceding 2014, about 4,000 corrupt officials fled the country with corrupt money, accounting for 40 percent of general economic charges and up to 80 percent of bribery and embezzlement cases.

On Oct. 22, 2021, discipline inspectors identified three high officials who were punished as examples of “being in China but having a heart abroad” and “leaving a back door open.”

Cao Jianliao, former vice mayor of Guangzhou and former secretary of the Zengcheng municipal committee, reportedly accepted bribes of more than 70 million yuan (about $9.84 million) to obtain Hong Kong and Macau resident identity cards for himself and his family.

Wen Min, former director of the Inner Mongolia Defense Science and Industry Office and former deputy director of the Economic and Information Commission, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for corruption and bribery. Wen was convicted of transferring funds through the underground money market to buy real estate for his daughter who was studying in Australia.

Zhang Shuguang, was investigated and resigned as former head of the transportation bureau of the Ministry of Railways. Zhang was later reported to have moved his wife and children out of China.

According to a conservative figure published by Lin Zhe, a professor at the Party’s Central School for training Chinese officials, from 1995 to 2005, at least 1.18 million spouses and children of Chinese officials settled abroad.

The twentieth congress will decide the CCP next leader, while the official media report on the “naked officials” cases. It seems that officials have no confidence in the Party itself, reflecting that they know the end of the CCP is near and the Communist system is just holding on to its last breath, Li said.