Business in Puyang city in eastern China’s Henan province will be a sober affair from now on.
The city of 3.7 million people has now issued a sweeping booze ban that prohibits all civil servants, Party members, cadres from drinking alcohol throughout five-day weekdays and even outside of work.
This directive issued on April 9 by the local discipline watchdog is seen as “the strictest alcohol ban yet” that not just prohibits drinking on the job during weekdays but also after working hours and holidays.
The only exception will be for attending personal events such as weddings or funerals.
It’s also a step further from the city’s alcohol consumption curb issued in 2009 when only drinking on the job during lunch was prohibited.
The move according to local authorities is to “rectify public servants’ working style” and to prevent them from using alcohol as “a breeding bed for corruption”.
Official lunch and business meetings in China can be boozy affairs, where alcohol-soaked lunches and banquets often facilitate deals and favors.
In 2009, a national alcohol ban for civil servants was proposed before a national alcohol ban at government offices and state-sponsored events was adopted in 2013, though it only applies to “high-grade liquor.”
