Scrutinised officials frozen in headlights of anti-graft campaign

HONG KONG/BEIJING (Reuters) - The sustained scrutiny of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign has been traumatic for many Communist Party and government officials who have grown rich on their power to dispense favours. With so much attention on their lifestyles, spending, travel, entertainment and networks of friends and colleagues, many have decided the safest course is to avoid making decisions or seek early retirement, say people familiar with the probes.

“Government officials are feeling insecure,” says Bo Zhiyue, senior research fellow at the East Asian Institute of the National University of Singapore. “It has also fuelled mistrust among officials. They report on each other.”