Chinese leader Xi Jinping has intensified his fight against corruption, targeting officials who engage in superstitious activities, borrow excessively, and defy his directives.
The Communist Party's top internal watchdog, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, punished nearly a million people in 2025, the highest number on record.
Xi's purges have evolved to focus on political offenses, including defying his directives, forming factions, and engaging in "superstitious" activities such as consulting fortunetellers.
Charge sheets have grown into lengthy denunciations that castigate officials for failing to stay committed to the party.
Xi's goal is to keep officials on their toes at all times, and the party has deployed roving inspection teams and embedded officials into major institutions to tighten oversight.
