Eliminating loopholes

A new series of guidelines on official receptions have been introduced recently, as part of the leadership's anti-extravagance drive. The guidelines, jointly issued by the general offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, will replace those introduced in 2006 and apply to all Party branches, government agencies, legislative and political advisory bodies, and judicial authorities, as well as any organizations funded with public money.

As a Beijing Times article points out, the new guidelines are attentive to details that might easily have been overlooked, and they will eliminate the loopholes that used to foster extravagance and corruption.

Many people said it would take at least three years for China to come up with nationwide regulations banning the use of expensive dishes, such as shark fin soup, at official receptions. But the local efforts that have been made so far contradict this. In Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, for instance, regulations were issued in late June last year, prohibiting shark fin, abalone and high-end liquor for official receptions.