The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has extended the audit of officials’ departure from checking back twenty years to lifelong accountability, pushing the boundaries of accountability indefinitely. Informed sources have told reporters that this change has quickly raised concerns among officials at the grassroots level, with many people turning to avoid taking responsibilities, leading to a phenomenon dubbed as “technical lying flat” in the officialdom.
Since January this year, officials within the Chinese system in various regions have been investigated one after another for suspected corruption, resulting in a dense wave of crackdowns. Retired insider Wang Jichao (pseudonym) within the system told Epoch Times that the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection recently dispatched inspection teams to various units to gather materials while intensifying investigations on officials.
“At first, they were looking back ten years, then it became thirteen years, twenty years, and now it’s lifelong accountability, which has scared all officials. They don’t even dare to accept gifts anymore,” Wang said. Authorities have extended the scope of accountability for department-level officials from checking back twenty years to lifelong accountability, meaning their personal assets will be thoroughly scrutinized. “I heard that as long as the discipline inspection commission receives a whistleblower’s letter, they will investigate you thoroughly. Even the money someone earns from stock trading is being suspected of having unclear origins.”
He added, “Now many people are afraid to work. My son said that people in their unit dare not touch work method reforms or suggest ideas to improve efficiency. Colleagues are most afraid of speaking up to suggest ideas. If you suggest something, the leadership tells you to do it. Once something goes wrong and you are criticized by netizens, in the end, you bear the blame, so it’s best not to speak up.”
Zhang Le mentioned that a widespread trend of adopting a “technically lying flat” approach to work has emerged at the grassroots level and is spreading nationwide. “I heard from a few friends in Liaoning that they have long been ‘lying flat’ in a technical manner. They are not completely idle but follow the regulations, not going beyond the limits, not striving too hard, and doing the bare minimum.”
Mr. Qi also pointed out that people at the grassroots level are generally concerned about the expansion of inspection and accountability mechanisms. He said, “Now with lifelong accountability, many things are better left undone, and no one is willing to make mistakes.”
Since 2024, the CCP’s disciplinary and supervisory agencies have repeatedly mentioned the “checking back” mechanism in their notifications, with some cases spanning up to twenty years. These practices have been widely interpreted within the officialdom as a long-term and normalized institutional arrangement.
Changsha scholar Feng Yi (pseudonym) believes that the comprehensive retrospective mechanism implemented by the authorities has caused panic within the CCP, but the problem lies not with civil servants but with the CCP itself. “In this dictatorial bureaucratic system, it is the root cause of creating corruption, fostering social conflicts. The CCP’s shift from targeting specific party officials to exerting long-term institutional pressure is simply nurturing lackeys loyal to the highest authorities, but I believe the results will backfire.”
On April 2, the CCP’s official Xinhua News Agency released an authoritative brief stating that the Central Anti-Corruption Coordination Group has launched the “Sky Net 2026” operation, focusing on issues such as cross-border pursuit of fugitives and assets, underground money transfers, as well as the management of “naked officials.”
In response, a scholar told reporters that with the simultaneous advancement of lifelong accountability and cross-border pursuit of fugitives, officials are facing a continuously expanding scope of constraints. This mechanism will ultimately backlash against the system itself, weakening the CCP’s ability to maintain its rule.