Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have expanded internal political and personnel investigations beyond managers to include ordinary employees, requiring workers to disclose extensive personal and family information, according to internal documents circulated online and interviews with retired employees.
The measures, introduced at some SOEs beginning in March, require employees to report the employment status of close relatives, overseas travel records, educational history dating back to elementary school, and overseas family connections. In some cases, workers were also instructed to submit screenshots of their immigration records through China’s official immigration applet.
Retired employees and former officials told The Epoch Times that the expanded scrutiny reflects the growing emphasis of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on political loyalty and social control, extending oversight into workers’ private lives and family relationships in ways they say raise human rights concerns.
They spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal.
Internal Forms Show Expanded Screening
Images of internal company documents recently circulated on Chinese social media indicate that some state-owned enterprises have broadened investigations that were previously aimed at managers and officials to include rank-and-file employees.
One form, titled “Special Rectification Register for ‘Nepotism’ Investigations (Ordinary Employees),” requires workers to list the names of close relatives, their relationship to the employee, their employers, and their job positions.
Traditionally, anti-nepotism reviews within SOEs have focused on managers with hiring, promotion, or transfer authority who could place relatives in company positions. The inclusion of ordinary employees, who typically have no hiring authority, has prompted criticism from workers who question the purpose of the expanded screening.
A recently retired former mid-level manager at an SOE, surnamed Wu, said the campaign has strayed far beyond its original purpose.
“If they’re investigating nepotism, they should be looking at leaders who used their power to place relatives in jobs,” he told The Epoch Times. “Instead, every ordinary employee is being required to explain where family members work and who they’re connected to.”
According to Wu, many employees resent the policy because they believe it targets people with no influence over hiring decisions while leaving long-standing patronage networks largely untouched.
“Which leader doesn’t have relatives working in state-owned enterprises?” he said. “One of my former bosses arranged for his daughter to be hired by another SOE through its management, while that company’s leader placed his own son in our enterprise. Now they’re investigating ordinary workers’ relatives. It’s simply political theater—meant to show Beijing they’re strictly enforcing Party discipline and demonstrating loyalty.”
Another internal form circulating online requires employees to disclose overseas travel over the past two years.
The document includes fields for employees’ names, departments, positions, passport or travel document information, dates of departure, destinations, and reasons for travel.
According to online posts accompanying the leaked forms, employees were instructed to access China’s National Immigration Administration mini-program, capture screenshots of their passport information and travel records, and submit them to their employers.
Another personal information form requires employees to disclose overseas relatives, employment history, and a complete educational record beginning with elementary school, including schools attended, majors, graduation status, and references who can verify each stage of their education.
The forms also contain sections associated with political vetting, requiring employees to provide background information about themselves and their family members.
Loyalty Checks Extend Beyond Officials
A retired official from northwestern China said the expanded reviews reflect growing distrust within the CCP’s leadership.
“In recent years, senior leaders have become increasingly suspicious of lower- and mid-level officials’ loyalty,” he told The Epoch Times. “They believe many officials have accumulated wealth but aren’t truly loyal.”
The retired official said authorities investigating the overseas transfer of illicit assets discovered that some aides to senior officials allegedly helped move money abroad by opening bank accounts in relatives’ names, depositing funds transferred from mainland China, and purchasing property in Britain.
“As a result, they’re now examining three generations of family members’ travel records and financial assets,” he said.
According to the retired official, SOEs and financial institutions began expanding these investigations last year, initially targeting senior executives, then their assistants and close relatives. The latest move to include ordinary employees suggests that authorities believe lower-level workers could also play a role in facilitating corruption or helping officials move assets overseas, he said.
The scrutiny has also expanded beyond financial and family matters.
A separate document dated April 13 requires employees seeking to enroll in part-time graduate programs to sign statements promising that they will follow company arrangements and fulfill their work responsibilities while studying.
The requirement effectively places employees’ personal education plans under organizational approval and emphasizes political compliance alongside workplace obligations.
A former employee of a public institution said political pressure inside state organizations has intensified significantly.
“Before I retired last year, we were constantly attending meetings,” he told The Epoch Times. “We had to report our ideological thinking, conduct self-criticisms, and preferably expose other people’s problems.”
“What kind of enterprise operates like that? I couldn’t stay any longer, so I retired as soon as I could,” he said.
As China’s economic slowdown has led to business closures and layoffs, the regime has simultaneously increased political study sessions, personal information reporting requirements, overseas travel reviews, and other compliance measures for employees, according to those interviewed.
The former employee said that requiring ordinary workers to publicly register detailed personal information about themselves and their relatives under the banner of combating nepotism was unprecedented during his career.
The retired official said the expansion of political vetting reflects a growing level of state intrusion that carries characteristics of human rights violations.
Zhou Yu contributed to this report.
