Low cost no excuse for breaking the ban on official banquets

VILLAGE OFFICIALS in Suzhou, Central China's Anhui province, who used some of the donations to help poor students to pay for a banquet for themselves and the donators, were punished recently. This is not an isolated incident, and the higher authorities need to make greater efforts to stop grassroots officials from violating the rules, says People's Daily:

Some people have defended the officials by saying that the banquet was not luxurious as it cost less than 33 yuan ($5) per person. But the low price is no justification for them to violate the ban on banquets at the public's expense, let alone using money meant to help students from poor families.

Worse, when some journalists reported on the banquet, the officials involved tried to hide the fact instead of apologizing and correcting their wrong. Even the local education department and disciplinary staff, which were supposed to regulate the officials, chose to help them hide the truth instead of performing their duty.