 "New rule for Chinese bureaucrats: No booze, cigarettes or gourmet meals in official meetings")
Back in March, a Chinese government official died after consuming excessive alcohol with four of his coworkers at a seminar in the central city of Xinyang. They had gathered to learn about the government’s updated regulations that required officials to be economical and sensible about spending.
The officials overindulged and went through four bottles of baijiu, a Chinese liquor, at the event. An official account said that the death was swept under the rug as people at the lunch did not want their seniors to know about the participant’s illicit consumption of alcohol. Officials paid off the deceased official’s family and committed drinking as his cause of death in their reports to seniors.
This case was highlighted in the Communist Party of China’s top disciplinary agency’s latest drive to denounce extravagant and profligate conduct within the party’s ranks, as President Xi Jinping wages a war against what he considers widespread hedonism within the party.
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said, “The party center has beaten drums and swung hammers, issued orders time and again,” adding that despite the party’s efforts, some officials have “turned a deaf ear and showed no fear or awe.”
What are the new rules?
In May, Beijing strengthened its stance on frugality by updating regulations for party and state employees, introducing new measures that explicitly ban alcohol, luxury dishes, and cigarettes at official meals.
Additional provisions forbid decorative floral arrangements, elaborate backdrops at meetings, and the purchase of extravagant equipment for events. These updates, building on a 2013 frugality code, are intended to reinforce the principle that “thrift is glorious.”
Officials are also barred from displaying flower arrangements during work meetings, using government-issued vehicles for private purposes and gambling while travelling to other countries.
However, Neil Thomas, a fellow on Chinese politics at the Asia Society Policy Institute, told the Wall Street Journal, “Updating the frugality code will not solve Beijing’s fiscal challenges.”
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“But it reinforces Xi’s political control over the bureaucracy and burnishes his image as a leader who stands against corruption and excess, especially at a time when many ordinary Chinese are feeling economic pain,” he added.
‘Get used to living frugally’
Xi has been clear about his intentions of belt-tightening. He wants his officials to “get used to living frugally” and has ramped up the crackdown against members who engage in corruption.
The crackdown has led to a record number of disciplinary actions, with nearly 313,000 individuals punished in 2024 for violating the “eight-point regulations”, a directive introduced by Xi shortly after he came to power in 2012 to curb extravagance and misconduct.
As part of Xi’s disciplinary measures, officials have to read four anthologies of Xi’s remarks on discipline and over a dozen sets of party regulations and directives.
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