Phantom sell-off (3)

Zhai Zhenfeng, a former housing management bureau chief in Zhengzhou, Henan, was exposed at the end of 2012 as having 31 homes, also gained by abuse of power during his term of service. Some believe that these scandals could be just the tip of the iceberg, given the lack of transparency over officials' assets.

Many people commented Thursday on their Weibo in response to reports about the sell-off of government worker's properties, speculating that it is due to the officials' fears of being caught by anti-corruption efforts under China's new leadership.

China will reinforce supervision and "put power in a legal cage," Xi Jinping, the general secretary of the Central Committee of the CPC, said at the second plenary session of the Party's discipline watchdog on January 22.

Xi expressed his determination to fight against corruption by calling for a mechanism to prevent officials from abusing their power.

Guangdong Province has launched a pilot program in two urban districts and a county for government officials to report and disclose details of properties they own. The program is expected to be expanded to the rest of the province in 2014.