Luxuries for China’s cadres questioned

BEIJING – Premier Wen Jiabao warned China’s communist cadres yesterday that their lavish spending and luxurious lifestyles would not be tolerated, as he unveiled another raft of measures to curb government graft.

Communist Party officials will no longer be allowed to get involved in golf course development, build palatial government offices or spend big on entertainment, Wen told the opening day of parliament’s annual session. Taking land from ordinary people to give to industrialists or property moguls will also be under the spotlight throughout 2007, Wen said in his work report.”We will work hard to correct actions that harm the interests of the people in land expropriation and requisition, housing demolition, transformation of enterprises into stock companies and environmental protection,” he said.”In particular, land will not be allowed to be used to build individual houses, golf courses, and new training centres for party and government organs, SOEs (state-owned enterprises) and public service institutions.”Corruption has become one of the top causes of public discontent in booming China and the government has said, year after year, that stamping it out is a top priority.Nevertheless, Wen said cadres across the country were still guilty of living the good life at the expense of the people they represented, and vowed to improve the system for punishing and preventing corruption within party ranks.”Quite a few local governments, government offices and organisations compete with one another for lavishness and spend money hand over foot, which arouses strong public resentment,” Wen said.”We must put a resolute stop to these unhealthy practices.”We will strictly control the construction and expansion of government office buildings, absolutely stop the construction of more luxury government building projects, truly standardise official entertaining…and build a conservation-minded government.”In January, Communist Party mouthpiece the People’s Daily also warned that too many party officials had become “morally degenerate” and were “sinking into the morass of crime and disorder.”Nampa-AFPTaking land from ordinary people to give to industrialists or property moguls will also be under the spotlight throughout 2007, Wen said in his work report.”We will work hard to correct actions that harm the interests of the people in land expropriation and requisition, housing demolition, transformation of enterprises into stock companies and environmental protection,” he said.”In particular, land will not be allowed to be used to build individual houses, golf courses, and new training centres for party and government organs, SOEs (state-owned enterprises) and public service institutions.”Corruption has become one of the top causes of public discontent in booming China and the government has said, year after year, that stamping it out is a top priority.Nevertheless, Wen said cadres across the country were still guilty of living the good life at the expense of the people they represented, and vowed to improve the system for punishing and preventing corruption within party ranks.”Quite a few local governments, government offices and organisations compete with one another for lavishness and spend money hand over foot, which arouses strong public resentment,” Wen said.”We must put a resolute stop to these unhealthy practices.”We will strictly control the construction and expansion of government office buildings, absolutely stop the construction of more luxury government building projects, truly standardise official entertaining…and build a conservation-minded government.”In January, Communist Party mouthpiece the People’s Daily also warned that too many party officials had become “morally degenerate” and were “sinking into the morass of crime and disorder.”Nampa-AFP