A SENIOR Chinese government official has been sacked for misconduct after web anti-graft vigilantes uploaded video footage of a group of cadres visiting the pyramids, dancing with models on a catwalk in Turkey and sightseeing in Dubai while on a publicly-funded “study” trip.
The economic slowdown has brought extra attention to official corruption and the Communist Party is seeking to show it is serious about doing something about graft amid growing public discontent at factory closures and rising unemployment.
A web posting titled “Overseas study or overseas travel?” on numerous sites in recent days shows a video of 13 civil servants from Zhaoqing in southern Guangdong province, living it up on a 14-day tour to Africa and the Middle East in 2007. The footage is cut in a lively way, with cheerful hip-hop music as the cadres visit an ostrich farm or enjoy some off-roading in the Dubai desert.
Several scenes show a particular official with their name blanked out, but their title is given, and includes officials of the local government’s finance and legal affairs bureau, planning office, as well as the local auditors or “discipline and inspection” office.
The city's disciplinary office confirmed the trip had been funded by public money and sacked Duanzhou's deputy Communist Party secretary, a report by the Guangzhou Dailysaid.
The cadres fell foul of internet vigilantes using the “human flesh search engine” where thousands of individuals dig out facts and expose them to publicity, using the internet and conventional search engines. The 17-minute video circulated on various sites before it was posted on one blog on top web portal Sina.com (http://vhead.blog.sina.com.cn/player/outer_player.swf?auto=1vid=18827101uid= 1267084551).
Overseas “study” trips have long been a perk enjoyed by Chinese bureaucrats, with a lot more pleasure than business going on during missions supposedly aimed at fact-finding. In December a number of officials from Wenzhou, in the eastern province of Zhejiang, were fired after a webizen uploaded images of receipts detailing luxury hotel and sightseeing costs from Las Vegas and other American cities.