The term "naked official" has been selected as one of the country’s top 10 buzzwords of 2009 by linguists. It refers to officials whose family members have moved overseas, while they continue to work on the Chinese mainland. They usually have a visa for the other country.
The "naked official" phenomenon has attracted attention because there have been cases where such officials have been found to be corrupt.
Zhong Li, a lawyer at Beijing Maxpro Law Firm, said, "It is reasonable to cast suspicion over the uprightness and honesty of officials who have arranged their family to live abroad."
Shanghai Daily reported Professor Huang Zongliang of Peking University said an effective way to curb corruption was to create a personal assets reporting system for officials.