China’s anti-corruption crackdown eyes new targets – art and literary awards

First went the fancy banquets, then the lavish gift-giving. Now, China’s ruling Communist Party has set its sights on a new target in its anti-corruption drive – art and literary prizes.

China’s proliferation of cultural awards has raised alarm among the party’s much-feared anti-corruption investigators, who worry that government officials are using them as a means of improving their clout, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

At a meeting on Monday in Changsha – the capital of Hunan, the home province of Communist China’s founding father, Mao Zedong – culture ministry officials vowed to “strictly prohibit the obtaining of illegitimate benefits in the name of art”, Xinhua reported.

“The ministry of culture will carry out a comprehensive rectification of literary and art awards. A number of awards will be cancelled or streamlined, with an overall reduction of more than 60 per cent.”

“Literature and art awards programmes during festivals will be cancelled, and criticism will be strengthened,” it added, saying the ministry would “guard against and eliminate all kinds of unhealthy tendencies”.

China’s art and cultural spheres have come under increasing scrutiny from party investigators as President Xi Jinping seeks to crack down on corruption at all levels.