‘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.