China launches a website to crack down on mooncake bribery ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival. (Photo : Getty Images)
China's top discipline and anti-corruption committee is stepping up efforts in combating bribery during Chinese holidays by launching a website that would serve as a platform where citizens could report mooncake-related abuses.
On September 8, the Communist Party of China's (CPC) Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) introduced a website that encourages the Chinese public to report possible cases of corruption ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Global Times reported.
This year's Mid-Autumn Festival will be celebrated between September 15 and September 17 which will be followed by the National Day holiday from October 1 to October 7.
According to the outlet, the website welcomes reports from citizens regarding excessive spending by state officials that may include receiving or giving lavish gifts, holding banquets, and travelling using public funds.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional Chinese event which takes place on the eighth month and 15th day of China's lunar calendar, China Highlights explained.
This year, the festival is expected to showcase traditional activities such as enjoying a reunion dinner with the family, playing with and flying lanterns as well as worshiping the moon. It is during this time that China's famous food called the mooncake is most visible in the country.
Unfortunately, what was an innocent-looking pastry became one of the most abused gifts for corrupt government and private officials, thereby giving birth to mooncake bribery.
"What has taken a deep dive is the high-end mooncakes more typically associated with corruption," China Market Research Group managing editor Shaun Rein told Reuters in 2013.
Apparently, the mooncake gift giving tradition was tainted with malice and bad intentions which was revealed during the onset of Chinese President Xi Jinping's corruption crackdown.
"It is a tradition for Chinese people to hold banquets and give gifts on festivals, such as mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival, which has created opportunities for many officials to receive bribes," CPC Party School professor Zhang Xixian told the Global Times.
