Aseries of anti-corruption cases, many exposed by new media, have hit the headlines since the 18th Party Congress elected a new leadership in November. While observers say China's fast-growing online community is becoming increasingly influential in fighting corruption, they attribute the recent cases, some of them high profile, to the new leadership's determination to root out corruption.

Their views have gained strength also from the fact that in his first speech as the newly elected ruling party leader and head of the country's military, Xi Jinping emphasized the importance of weeding out corruption from society, and Wang Qishan, known as the "fire brigade captain" for his problem-solving and crisis-handling capacity, was named to lead China's top anti-corruption body.

Some of the new leadership's working style have been welcomed by the people, which includes banning welcome banners, red carpets, flowers and grand receptions for visiting officials. These new norms have left people wondering whether they are the beginning of an all-out war against corruption.