Cracking down: New dining guidelines promoted by some localities are asking cadres to be wary of social gatherings, not treat bosses or underlings to meals, and avoid ‘forming small cliques’. — Bloomberg
Some civil servants have been ordered not to dine out in groups of more than three after deaths linked to excessive alcohol consumption at banquets, according to interviews and social media posts, as Beijing’s austerity push ramps up.
Revised regulations released in May targeting Communist Party members and public sector workers now bans lavish banquets, white elephant infrastructure projects, luxurious car fittings and ornamental plants in work meetings.
Analysts say the renewed push is a sign of President Xi Jinping’s long-standing preoccupation with anti-corruption and Party discipline.
The measures come after three widely publicised cases of cadre deaths since April linked to excessive drinking at banquets.
Dozens of officials have been punished in connection to the deaths in Hunan, Anhui and Henan provinces, where they attempted to conceal details of the banquets and privately compensate the families of the deceased.
But new dining guidelines promoted by some localities this week go even further, asking cadres to be wary of social gatherings, not treat bosses or underlings to meals, and avoid “forming small cliques”, according to a social media post by a Communist Party body in the Anhui province.
The guidance triggered an outpouring of complaints on social media from one of the most tightly-controlled groups in China, who feel that their lives have been subject to excessive restrictions.
“This is overcorrection. The essence of the guidelines is not wasting public money on lavish banquets but at each level of bureaucracy it gets enforced more harshly,” wrote a user in the Guangxi region. — Reuters
