Full disclosure

last updated 8 January 2015

Nanjing, China

The city of Nanjing is requiring officials to disclose their extramarital affairs, China’s Xinhua news agency reported this week. The measure is intended to prevent corruption, since embezzlers often funnel money through their mistresses. Last year, some 870,000 officials across China were indicted for corruption, and the government contends that up to 95 percent of them had mistresses. “Although arguments exist, one fact is undeniable,” Xinhua said. “The Chinese government and academic society are being more innovative than ever before in the field of creating new ways to prevent and control corruption.”