China urges officials to rein in overzealous dining austerity measures
Leading publications of China's ruling Communist Party have urged local governments to implement strictures on lavish banquets carefully, an attempt to temper overzealousness amid concerns from the country's beleaguered food and beverage industry.
Qiushi, the party's theoretical journal, said in a commentary piece on Friday that recent affirmations of the need for frugality in official meals are intended to limit extravagant practices, not ordinary dining.
'Some local governments scrutinise every meal gathering and intervene in every banquet. Some agencies, to 'avoid trouble', simply cancel all official receptions. Some cadres even go so far as to avoid normal working meals,' the piece read.
Such 'oversimplified' measures have complicated understanding of the regulations in question, derailing their original intention and bringing 'unnecessary shocks to the catering industry'.
Curbs on perceived excess in official meals spread across the country in May after the party's Central Committee and the State Council, the national cabinet, released their 'Regulations on Practicing Thrift and Opposing Waste in Party and Government Bodies'.
The document stipulates rules for receptions involving government officials or employees of state-backed organs, banning 'high-end dishes', cigarettes and liquor at these events.
Localities, to demonstrate their compliance, have rolled out their own guidelines on the matter, with some extreme cases receiving media attention.
Earlier this month, two bank managers in the central province of Anhui were each fined 3,000 yuan (US$417) for accepting bowls of noodles priced at around 6 yuan (83 US cents) each from a client, according to Yangcheng Evening News, an official publication of the southern city of Guangzhou.
'[Some places] ban officials from drinking alcohol 24 hours a day, limit attendants at meals to three heads, or mandate bill splitting ... There have been some misinterpretations of the regulations,' state news agency Xinhua said in a commentary on Thursday.
'Addressing illicit feasting and promoting normal consumption and market prosperity are not mutually exclusive,' Xinhua said. 'This must not negatively impact the normal operations of the catering industry or the public's regular consumption.'
In its Friday commentary, Qiushi told government agencies to assess cases comprehensively based on 'reception standards, sources of funds, the relationships between participants' and other factors to identify non-compliant meals.
'This protects compliant officials, respects normal social interactions among friends and family and avoids disrupting regular dining activities.'
On Tuesday, People's Daily also warned of consequences for the catering industry and the economy as a whole if the regulations continued to be excessively enforced.
'When restaurants lose their customers, what disappears is more than just the vibrancy of life; it is also service staff's wages, orders for farmers and supply chain flows,' the Communist Party paper said. 'The cost of these escalating measures ultimately falls on the shoulders of labourers.'
According to government data, 34.35 million people were working in China's food and hospitality industries as of the end of 2023. Among them, 25.41 million were employed by individual operators. - SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
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