Officials to line up for Beijing buffets

 BEIJING, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- A new regulation to battle extravagance in Beijing Municipality bans banquets for officials in the city on business.

Officials at various levels will all receive buffet¹-style meals during work-related visits to Beijing, according to the regulation passed Thursday by the Communist Party of China (CPC) Beijing Municipal Committee.

The regulation is the first detailed² local rule following the eight aspects of officials' work style to reject extravagance and reduce bureaucracy, which were adopted at a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on Dec. 4.

In China, banquets featuring expensive wines and dishes are often arranged to receive officials, while simple dishes are often served at a buffet.

Dinner is traditionally an important social occasion for both officials and businesspeople. Officials are often seen throwing or being invited to lavish³ dinners, triggering public outcry, as taxpayers⁴ shoulder the financial burden of such events.

These events become more prevalent toward the year's end, as people gather for end-of-year celebrations.

However, government officials are being pressured to follow in the footsteps of top CPC leaders who have adopted simpler working styles in an attempt to shore up public trust.

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, was recently seen carrying his own plate to pick up food at a cafeteria during a tour of a military facility in south China's Guangdong Province. Some viewed his actions as an attempt to encourage officials to forego bureaucracy and a sense of entitlement.

In addition to the requirements on business dinners, the regulation released on Friday also says there should be "no welcome banners, no floral arrangements, no traffic controls and no souvenirs of any kind" during municipal officials' visits.

News publishers are also required to shorten the lengths of stories on officials' activities, which have often bored people due to the stories' wordy, meaningless style.

Residents in Beijing have welcomed the measures, as simpler work styles among officials make their lives more comfortable.

"We won't be disturbed by traffic controls because of officials' visits, and the money that is saved can be used to further improve people's lives," said Ma Guohua, an aerobics⁵ instructor⁶ at Minbei Street Central Park in Beijing's Dongcheng District.

Ma hopes the change in work style will be for the long term, and he advised strengthening supervision⁷ work.

1 buffet   

n.自助餐；饮食柜台；餐台

参考例句：

• Are you having a sit-down meal or a buffet at the wedding?你想在婚礼中摆桌宴还是搞自助餐？
• Could you tell me what specialties you have for the buffet?你能告诉我你们的自助餐有什么特色菜吗？

2 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

3 lavish   

adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍

参考例句：

• He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
• The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。

4 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

5 aerobics   

n.健身操，健美操，韵律操

参考例句：

• Doing aerobics is a good way to improve one's health.做有氧健身操是改善健康状况的一个好方法。
• Aren't you going to the aerobics class this morning?今天上午你不是去上有氧运动课吗？

6 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。

7 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。