Ban on alcohol in the home of national liquor

Southwest China’s Guizhou Province, home to national liquor Moutai, is to ban alcohol from the dinner tables of officials during working hours.

The ban, which takes effect on September 1, applies to Party and government departments, judicial organs and local state-owned companies. Liquor, red wine, beer and other drinks containing alcohol are all to be prohibited during official activities, except for important foreign or investment promotion occasions, which will require approval to serve liquor.

Disciplinary staff will check the implementation of the ban and violators will be punished, said Zhang Ping, deputy head of the province’s commission for discipline inspection.

In late 2013, as part of a frugality campaign, the central authorities banned cigarettes and high-end liquor at working lunches. Since then, stricter local alcohol bans have been put into force in the provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin, Zhejiang, Anhui and Jiangsu, and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The alcohol bans show the Party’s resolve to improve officials’ work style, said Zheng Dongsheng, professor of Party building at Guizhou Provincial Party School.

Over the past four years, it had become more practical and efficient, he said.