Got a Mint, Comrade? Chinese Ban Liquid Lunch
Du Bin for The New York Times
Officials on special assignment for the Xinyang Communist Party conducted surprise breathalyzer tests on city police officers.
By JIM YARDLEY
Published: March 8, 2008
XINYANG, China ? Li Bin, a barrel-chested retiree on special assignment for this city?s Communist Party boss, strode down an empty hallway of the Xinyang Middle Court in search of bureaucrats. He rattled locked doorknobs and barged into offices without knocking. A court officer retreated in red-faced terror.
The New York Times
The ban in Xinyang has been watched all over the country.
The booze squad had arrived.
?Blow,? ordered one of Mr. Li?s young subordinates a few minutes later as he pressed an alcohol monitor to the lips of a nervous Communist Party functionary.
The target of Mr. Li?s midafternoon sting last week was not just tipsy cadres but a ritual that many Communist Party officials have long considered a part of their job description: the hours-long, alcohol-soaked midday banquet (usually paid for with public money). For the past year, Mr. Li and other investigators have swooped into government offices in this grimy city of seven million people to catch civil servants partaking of the liquid lunch. One violator was fired on the spot.
With Beijing trying to rein in official corruption, the campaign in Xinyang, in Henan Province, might seem like comic relief. But public disgust with official privilege is so palpable that the campaign has attracted national attention, spawned imitators in other cities and offered a tantalizing hint at how much China?s liquor industry profits from the thirst of Communist Party officials.
Wang Tie, the Xinyang Communist Party chief and architect of the crackdown, estimated that the policy saved his government almost $6 million in six months. Local restaurants have reported sharp drops in profits. Last month, the Henan Alcoholic Drink Industry Association, a trade group alarmed at losing its best customers, challenged the policy as a violation of the legal rights of civil servants.
?The country?s Civil Servant Law doesn?t require civil servants to refrain from drinking during their lunchtime,? argued Kang Yinzhong, a lawyer for the trade group, according to state media. ?Drink or not, it is the civil servant?s right. Public power has no legal ground to interfere in a civil servant?s life if he or she doesn?t mess up their afternoon work.?
Mr. Wang, the party chief, said the policy could withstand any challenges, and he proudly provided a positive editorial from People?s Daily, the Communist Party?s authoritative newspaper. ?Everyone knows there is a problem in China with cadres eating and drinking on public funds,? Mr. Wang said. ?It?s a big problem, and to deal with corruption you?ve got to start with issues like this.?
Mr. Wang, who is getting fan mail, added, ?We wanted the cadres to have energy for work.? Indeed, service is not always a priority for government workers after a few hours of slugging down shots.
?Sometimes you?ll go to the civil affairs bureau after lunch and they are sleeping or playing cards,? said one Xinyang taxi driver. ?Sometimes you can?t even find anyone.?
Drinking on the job is hardly unique to China, but ritualized drinking is deeply ingrained in China?s business culture. Restaurants usually offer private banquet rooms, some with lounge areas, flat-screen televisions and private bathrooms. Tables are often set with specific glasses for beer, wine or baijiu, the fiery Chinese liquor that lubricates nearly every banqueting experience.
A banquet is considered a mandatory exercise for welcoming guests on official business. Hosts will lose face if a guest is perceived to be uncomfortable or having less than a jolly time. By this same logic, one way to ensure good feelings and build rapport is for everyone to drink. And, often, drink very heavily.
?It?s like a form of communication between people,? offered Zhu Xiaojun, general manager of Jigongshan Baijiu, a distillery in Xinyang. ?It would be disrespectful to not drink with a guest.?
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http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/08/world/asia/08china.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
