China's graft watchdog exposes corruption in poverty relief

BEIJING, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- China's top disciplinary watchdog on Wednesday named a number of grassroots officials implicated in abuse of poverty relief funds.

The eight cases involve bribe-taking, embezzlement of poverty relief funds and fraudulently obtaining subsistence allowance, the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) said in a statement.

In one case, a township civil affairs official in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region embezzled about 1.73 million yuan (273,133 U.S. dollars) of subsistence allowance for the needy and lost 1.01 million yuan on gambling in 2016. The official was stripped of CPC membership and his public post, and the case has been transferred to judicial organs.

The fight against corruption and malpractice in poverty relief is a major task in the following three years, said the CCDI, ordering harsh punishments for officials implicated in misuse of poverty relief funds.

China has set 2020 as the target year to complete the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects, which requires the lifting of all people above the poverty line -- per capita annual income of 2,300 yuan -- in rural areas. Enditem