New Spring Festival trends reflect a changing China

Miao Fu and Wang Sheng perform at CCTV Spring Festival gala in Beijing, Feb 18, 2015. A stand-up routine, "It's not mine," performed by young comedians Miao Fu and Wang Sheng from Northwest China's Shaanxi province, depicted an corrupt official who took bribes including a car, a house and also a woman, if a woman can fairly be described as a bribe. At the end of the sketch the "official" decided to turn himself in to the graft-busters. [Photo/IC]

Crackdown on corruption

China's anti-corruption campaign persisted throughout the seven-day Spring Festival holiday. The annual Spring Festival TV gala, aired on Feb 18, the eve of Chinese Spring Festival, by the China Central Television (CCTV) featured at least three performances that had anti-corruption themes.

In the meantime, three online animations featuring President Xi Jinping and the nationwide anti-graft campaign became viral hits during the Spring Festival holiday. The clips, each of which lasts about two minutes, compared the situation before and after the so-called mass-line campaign, the initiative aimed at cracking down on corruption and strengthening ties between officials and the people since 2013.