Training at public expense

The Beijing municipal government's new rules on the management of officials' training abroad are a timely response to the increasing public concern over officials' trips abroad at the taxpayers' expense.

It is good that the new rules specify a cap on the amount of money the trainees can spend on a daily basis. Obviously, they are meant to tighten control on such spending.

Given the fact that training has become a widely used pretext for officials at various levels to go sightseeing or shopping overseas at the public's expense, Beijing's rules should be an example for the rest of the country.