China has a new reality show that mixes the excitement of modern reality television with classic government propaganda.
The first episode of “Always on the Road,” an eight-episode, reality-style documentary series produced by China Central Television and the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, aired Monday. This new television series will present at least 10 government officials brought down on corruption charges to the general public, reports BBC.
The show reportedly has millions of viewers. “People everywhere are talking about Always on the Road,” the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, an internal government watchdog, said in a statement.
“Always on the Road” encourages Chinese citizens and officials to learn from the selflessness of Chinese President Xi Jinping, explained the Times of India.
Xi has waged a war against corruption since he took office in 2013. Last year, 336,000 government officials were charged with corruption, said Sixth Tone. The campaign targets senior officials, which are known as “tigers,” and low-level officials, or “flies.”
The first episode opened with Xi’s 2015 New Year’s address, where he celebrated the holiday by stating the government “must continue to rule with discipline and uphold the sword of anti-corruption.”
The show then presented Bai Enpei, the former party secretary for Yunnan Province, Zhou Benshun, a former Hebei party chief, and Li Chuncheng, a former deputy party boss in Sichuan. Bai was sentenced to life in prison after receiving a reprieve from what was initially a death sentence, Zhou is still awaiting trial, and Li was sentenced to 13 years in prison.
“Life is like a live broadcast, there is no going back,” Li said before bursting into tears.
Bai and his wife Zhang Huiqing accepted bribes for over a decade. One guest speaker on the show revealed that Zhang once requested a jade bracelet worth $2.2 million. Zhou reportedly accepted bribes from investors. Once, he “borrowed” $1.5 million from an investor. There was never any intent to pay back the money.
But, Zhou’s crimes don’t stop there. He also apparently buried a turtle with Buddhist religious scrolls, which is forbidden for party officials. It is unclear what kind of sentence will be passed down for Zhou’s millions in bribes and turtle burial foul.
The second episode came out Tuesday. It featured Wan Qingliang, a former Guangzhou party boss who was sentenced to life in prison last month for corruption.
“I thought this was what everyone did, and I just went with the flow,” Wan said.
Send tips to ryan@
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.