'Leave the arts to artists,' China's top graft-buster warns officials of corruption under disguise of art groups

China’s anti-corruption watchdog issued a stern warning to bureaucrats on Tuesday telling them not to engage with associations devoted to the arts.

An article published by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the powerful Communist Party agency orchestrating the ongoing nation-wide campaign against corruption, harshly criticised incumbent and former government officials who take posts in local art groups including calligraphers' , painters' , or writers' associations. 

The article lashes out at officials “who used their political leverage to obtain posts in [the] art realm,” saying the practice had become popular in certain regions and has lead to corruptions known as “elegant bribery”.

The term refers to officials receiving illicit gains through selling art works like paintings or calligraphy. Other forms of such gains include receiving illicit fees and remuneration for publishing articles or giving speeches.

"Some cadres could barely write the standard script [in calligraphy], yet they are audacious enough to go straight to the cursive, and give mounted samples of their writings to others as gifts," the article quoted Wang Qishan, the powerful head of the CCDI, as saying at a recent meeting, in a caustic jab at officials who pass themselves off as calligraphers. It went on the explain that some officials's art works, even though of inferior quality, often attract hordes of "buyers" who disguise their bribes as payment for art. 

It singled out the Shaanxi Calligrapher’s Association as an example of how bureaucrats’ involvement can lead to administrative corpulence. The association has 34 deputy chairmen, 16 executive deputy-chairmen, two secretary-generals, and 10 deputy secretary-generals, according to the public information available on its website.