Civil servants across China are avoiding dinner out to “play for insurance” at a time when the latest austerity measures turn into an oppressive excessive control campaign – like many others before. It is the most recent ceng ceng jia ma.
The pressure of austerity In China, he intensified, with aggressive campaigns against consumption, propagated cascade by local authorities, trying to prove their loyalty to the Beijing government.
According to civil servants interviewed by, the lifestyle changes that are being coerced to make by local authorities are sometimes even more strict than the regulations and guidelines from the central organs of the state and the party.
An employee of the province of Sichuan in the southwest, with name Luotells SCMP that your boss announced a prohibition of dinner In early May, saying that “Eating out eating out at this time is not good for you. This is the latest branch of ceng ceng jia ma“.
The expression “ceng ceng jia ma“, Which in Mandarin translates into something like“Add an extra layer on control layer“It is well known among China employees – long -to -lower climbing.
Ceng ceng jia ma succinctly summarizes the way local authorities at all levels tend to take excessive measures In addition to the central directives, for DEmine your political loyaltyand often end up overdoing.
This trend became particularly evident during the pandemic years, when the Local application of zero-covid approach of Beijing was often excessive.
Since March, thousands of Chinese employees have been striving to comply with the president’s latest orders Xi Jinping to combat unnecessary expenses, ensuring that their Offices are modestthat your dining receipts are in order and that return any luxurious gift.
However, thousands of disciplinary inspectors perform random checks that the guidelines are fulfilled.
In May, the Beijing Government released a more tight set of rules, magazines extensively to “implement frugality and cut waste”Between party and government agencies, with cuts ranging from expensive projects and use of official vehicles to luxurious meals and meeting room decoration – spending that becomes becoming in the target of disciplinary inspectors.
Of special grade is a Total prohibition of alcohol in working mealsas well as consumption of Expensive dishes and tobacco.
Os local governments were quick to adopt the new regulationsand, by precaution, apply us more rigorously, leading some civil servants to complain about Excessive intrusion in their personal lives.
An employee of the Province of Anhui says that his department began to perform daily alcohol tests When the staff introduces themselves to work, along with punctual checks after lunch.
“I think it’s very intrusive and I don’t know what’s the meaning from that. If I drank last night, you probably can’t detect the next morning, ”said the employee, with a nickname Liu.“ Those who drank lunch can simply Find excuses not to returnr to the office for the rest of the day ”.
An employee of the province of Gansu says that gave up dinner after your boss has released a List of 20 types of activities that should be avoided, with Multiple choice questions to check if they had understood the directive correctly.
One of the questionnaire’s questions said: “Your director likes you and has just promoted you. His son will marry. What should you do?“The question had four possible answers:
- Watch the banquet and offer a red envelope
- Send congratulations and not watch the banquet
- Watch the banquet if invited, otherwise give a red envelope private
- Check if other colleagues will watch the banquet
One red envelope, or Hong Baorefers to a traditional red package with money, offered during special occasions such as weddings, birthdays and in the Lunar New Year.
“That is too problematic and too risky“Said the employee, named Zhao.”You never know what kind of dinner or fun will bring you problems. The best way is simply refuse; A unique approach is the best way to proceed now. ”
“Our boss is trying to protect us. If any complainant reports anything, we have many explanations to give. My supervisor continues to tell us to do not attract unnecessary problems At this critical moment, when so many inspectors are watching us, ”says Luo.
The intensification of restrictive measures at local level has not gone unnoticed to the higher authorities. Official media and senior employees intervened in the meantime to clarify the limits of the austerity campaign.
In an article published on June 17, the Popular Diário, the official body of the Communist Party of China, clarifies that “the ban on banquets violates the rules defined to rectify party conduct ”, in reference to a set of eight rules promulgated in 2013 and magazines in May.
“The rules do not imply that all banquets violate regulations“, Says the article, who points out that the China’s food and drink market over 2024 more than 5.5 billion of Yuan (about 660 billion euros) and generated more than 30 million jobs.
“The austerity measures promulgated by the Beijing Government is intended to be used as a scalpel in precise actions, but some local authorities are apply them as a hammerprohibiting all meetings and banquets, ”adds the article.
“These are the misunderstandings of policies and indifference to the subsistence means of people under lazy government thinkingwhich replaces governance accurate with simple and raw measures, ”concludes the article.
