Collateral Damage From China's Antigraft Drive

As China prepares to welcome the Year of the Sheep on Feb. 19, Beijing’s citizens are doing their best to celebrate as usual. Red paper lanterns with festive tassels are visible in stores and homes. Trains are jammed with Chinese headed to the countryside to visit relatives.

Yet Beijingers like Yao Ting, a 29-year-old accountant at a large state-owned bank, expect this Lunar New Year to be less rewarding. In years past, companies, usually state-affiliated ones, often handed out prepaid gift cards to help pay for shopping sprees by employees at department stores and hypermarkets. But with the government of President Xi Jinping campaigning against corruption, many employers are now less generous. “This year, I think we will only have candies and nuts from the office,” Yao says.