The ongoing anti-corruption campaign, intensified after 2012, is aimed at deterring officials from using their power to make illicit gains, and the anti-corruption rules prohibit officials from using public funds to buy personal comforts.

But the rules have unwittingly deprived many grassroots civil servants, and employees of public institutions and State-owned enterprises of some benefits which they otherwise deserve, because some officials have exercised excessive caution in their implementation for fear of being accused of wasting public funds.

Mooncakes during Mid-Autumn Festival, zongzi, or glutinous rice dumplings during Dragon Boat Festival and tangyuan, or sweet rice dumplings during Lantern Festival, are traditional presents that cost little but carry deep cultural meaning. Yet they have disappeared from official procurement lists.