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November 13, 2014

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Officials struggling to cope with life鈥檚 simple things

Source: Xinhua | November 13, 2014, Thursday | Print Edition

FOR some officials, learning to board a plane is the first step in adapting to the stricter rules applied to members of the Communist Party of China.

Beginning last year, supervision and regulation were tightened to reduce corruption, bureaucracy and extravagance, with practices such as the use of public funds for gifts, banquets or holidays outright banned.

In response, many major companies and banks have closed VIP airport lounges as first-class travel has been tainted by its being associated to corrupt officials who had financed their jaunts with public funds.

But now, without the premium services they have grown accustomed to, some officials seem to be lost.

A Party chief in north China’s Hebei Province said that he did not know how to book tickets or how to collect boarding pass despite being a frequent flyer.

“Standing at the airport, I’m just like a migrant worker arriving in the big city from a village for the first time,” said the official on condition of anonymity.

Other officials have been left scratching their heads after losing their assistants, who would have done everything for them, and others are struggling to use public transportation after new rules banned the use of public vehicles for private purposes.

There is a Chinese expression: “a parasite whose four limbs do not toil,” which can be used to describe those officials who have long enjoyed privileges, living in comfort while turning a deaf ear to public concerns.

As these officials have seriously damaged the Party’s image, the CPC has locked onto them as targets for its campaign. The CPC was founded among the people and is powered by the people, which means the Party shall never abandon its principle of “identifying itself with the masses.”

Central authorities have issued specific regulations to rule out loopholes, such as blacklisting 21 locations as venues for government meetings. More regulations are needed, and more importantly, an effective and long-term mechanism must be in place so the reputation and purity of the Party is restored.

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