1,327 Xinjiang officials break frugality rules in 1st half

More than 1,300 government officials in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region were punished in the first half of 2014 for violating frugality rules, the country's top anti-graft watchdog announced.

Disciplinary authorities uncovered 858 cases involving 1,327 officials, such as using government vehicles for private purposes, buying gifts with public funds, hosting lavish public banquets or extravagant weddings or holding elaborate funerals, said a statement released on the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China on Monday.

The authorities will more closely watch violations of the Party's frugality rules including the misuse of government vehicles and the purchase of gifts at public expense, the statement said.

The CPC Central Committee put forward "eight-point" frugality rules in December 2012 that require government officials to get close to the people by cleaning up undesirable work styles including extravagance and hedonism. Across the country, 30,420 officials were punished last year for violating the rules.