Watchdogs must not overstep boundaries of supervision

The local anti-graft commission in Tunliu county of Changzhi city, North China's Shanxi province, issued a report on Sept 30 criticizing 24 high school teachers for spending a total of 1,390 yuan ($207) on a meal that included alcohol. However, whether it has the right to discipline the teachers in this instance has been questioned as the teachers paid for the meal themselves.

The Changzhi discipline authorities said on Sunday that the previous accusation of the local anti-graft commission in Tunliu county, which stopped short of explaining why the teachers' gathering was "improper", was not well thought out and it decided to withdraw it. However, two teachers were required to criticize themselves at a faculty meeting, and the others were summoned before the commission.

Since the nationwide campaign against corruption was launched at the end of 2012, members of the Communist Party of China face stricter austerity rules aimed at reducing bureaucracy and extravagance. Indeed, the anti-graft efforts have paid off and become more efficient, thanks to these rules and an increasing number of residents who contribute to the anti-graft efforts by reporting the misdemeanors of Party members.