Hong Kong (CNN) -- China has removed 162,629 "phantom staff" from government payrolls, as Beijing presses on with a campaign against official corruption and misuse of public money, state media reported. Hebei province in central China was the worst offender, with 55,793 officials found to be getting paid even though they never worked, followed by Sichuan and Henan, state news agency Xinhua reported on Monday. No "phantom employees" were found in Shanghai and Tibet, the report added. President Xi Jinping has made rooting out corruption a top priority since taking power amid widespread suspicion that government officials use their position for personal gain.
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China says it has removed 162,629 "phantom staff" from provincial government payrolls
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Beijing has launched a campaign against official corruption and misuse of public money
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114,418 official vehicles have also been scrapped as China's president roots out graft.
@placeholder has promised to phase out the use of government vehicles by the end of 2015, except for those used for emergencies and law enforcement.