“Party Cadres Should See Eating at Home as an Honor,” proclaimed the title of a commentary that Party mouthpiece People’s Daily published on WeChat on Wednesday.

The article shamed officials who frequent dinner parties with businesspeople in violation of the “eight-point regulation” adopted in 2012 that ordered leaders to practice thrift. In 2017, more than 71,000 political bureau members were disciplined for violating the regulations.

The commentary acknowledges that sometimes officials are compelled to dine out not through extravagance or corruption but simply because they are working overtime. However, the writer blames overtime on inefficiency: Working more effectively, the article posits, would help cadres get home for dinner. (Image: IC)