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China demands officials curb extravagant expenditure, meetings

Chinese officials must put an end to extravagant overseas trips, wasteful meetings and excessive celebration of festivals, the government said on Friday as it launched its latest anti-graft campaign.

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Chinese officials must put an end to extravagant overseas trips, wasteful meetings and excessive celebration of festivals, the government said on Friday as it launched its latest anti-graft campaign.

The ruling Communist Party has repeatedly vowed to stamp out corruption, a major source of public discontent as the booming economy gives officials opportunity to use their power for private gain.

In the latest missive from premier Wen Jiabao, officials have been told to stop giving and receiving presents, including gift cards, avoid banquets on work trips and make public any documents they issue that are not deemed secret.

"Anti-corruption and clean government work remains serious and the task extremely hard," Wen told a cabinet meeting, according to the official Xinhua news agency in a paraphrasing of his comments.

"Some contradictions in society are rather pointed, and, added to the corruption problem, will have an overlapping effect if improperly handled, which could impact upon ... social stability," he added.

"Officials and all levels of government must ... fully understand the importance and pressing nature of fighting graft."

Officials must severely curtail overseas trips, including attending or organising international seminars, and make public details of spending on such overseas visits, Wen said.

"Strictly control costs on work trips or receiving visitors, do not give or take gifts, have only the meals you would normally have while at work," he added.

"Further cut down on all kind of celebration activities for holidays," Wen said.

China has seen some spectacular graft cases over the past  few years, which have felled big names. In 2006 Shanghai's  powerful Communist Party boss, Chen Liangyu, was caught up in  a corruption scandal and later given 18 years in prison.

Critics say the fight against graft is hampered by the lack of an independent judiciary, which answers firstly to the  Party, and officials not being held accountable to an electorate or by an independent media, which is also tightly controlled.

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