Experts hail resolution in handling 'trivialities'

BEIJING - Political analysts say China's central authorities have shown an iron will in rectifying improper work styles among officials by saying no to bureaucracy- and extravagance-related "trivialities."

The Communist Party of China (CPC) discipline watchdog recently announced eight "typical cases" in which officials broke an eight-point bureaucracy-fighting rule introduced by the Party in December, according to an official statement issued Monday.

According to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of the CPC, the cases involved officials indulging in public-funded dining and holding opulent banquets to accept cash and gifts. Certain Party cadres used to view such activities as "trivial matters," though they have been the basis of much public complaint.

Among them was Yue Shuwang, a township Party chief in the impoverished Guyuan County in north China's Hebei province.

He was removed from his post after an investigation showed that he spent 200,000 yuan (about $32,400) on a wedding banquet for his daughter earlier this month and received 1 million yuan in gifts from others.

Zhu Lijia, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Governance, said that by publicizing the "typical cases," the CPC is targeting the hedonist and extravagant styles that exist among some cadres, which is also a major target of the ongoing CPC "mass line" campaign intended to usher in closer Party-people ties.

"Some Party officials might take it for granted that spending public funds lavishly on dining is never a matter as serious as seeking illegal benefits via abuse of power," said Xin Ming, a professor with the Party School of the CPC Central Committee.

"But they actually ignored a fact that for the CPC, cadres' work styles are vital to the Party's survival, because it is those 'insignificant matters' that are undermining the Party's image," he said.

Xin said the handling of the "typical cases" demonstrated the Party's resolution to fight improper work styles and ensure that Party members exercise strict self-discipline.

Figures from the CCDI show that as of late June, 2,290 officials had been punished for breaching the eight-point guidelines.

The CCDI stressed that any violation of the CPC rules on fighting bureaucracy, formalism, hedonism and extravagance should never be tolerated.

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