BEIJING: A wave of suicides committed by government officials in China has set off alarm bells in the quiet corridors of power here amid President Xi Jinping’s ongoing anti-corruption drive. Over 150 officials from different levels of government have committed suicide since 2013, data scattered across Chinese media, including official ones, reveal. But many of those who committed suicides were or could have been under the scanner for graft. The tragic trend till mid-2016 indicates that this year could turn out to be the worst – till Sunday, 28 government officials had committed suicide. Intra-party ideological differences within the Communist Party of China (CPC) and officials could be another reason for the deaths.

Source: Hindustan Times July 03, 2016 15:33 UTC