Official's e-shop for local produce: good example or breaking rules?

TANG WENZHONG, Party chief of Dunhua, a city in Northeast China's Jilin province, recently opened an e-shop via a social media platform to sell agricultural products for a local State-owned enterprise, and he called for family members and subordinate Party chiefs to open branch shops for him. Tang claimed the profits would go to the SOE. This has sparked debate about whether he is promoting local growth or violating Party regulations. Comments:

Both the law and the Party discipline forbid certain kinds of officials and their family members from running businesses in order to ensure the market is fair. Tang has not only violated discipline himself, but also asked his family members and his subordinates to do this wrong together.

It should be emphasized that the law and discipline are not groundless. Officials control more social resources than ordinary residents and often get inside information, which grants them priority in the market. The law and discipline are meant to make it fair.