Chinese Regime Still Grappling With Corrupt Officials Fleeing Abroad

Chinese yuan notes in Beijing, taken on Sept. 29, 2016. Fred Dufour/AFP/Getty Images

Corrupt officials are a big headache for the Chinese Communist Party. They drain the country of money and then escape abroad with their booty. The phenomenon is so pervasive there is even a term to describe them: “naked officials,” so called because they send their wife and kids overseas while they’re alone in China amassing wealth.

Current leader Xi Jinping has been rounding up corrupt officials to further consolidate his power and has even launched a campaign to seek extradition of and arrest those who have fled abroad.