In southwest China, local officials sabotage banquets by throwing salt on food
In a county in southwest China, local authorities poured salt on the meal prepared for a banquet.
Objective: put an end to excessive spending in rural areas.
“Hong bao”, envelopes used to give money, are offered during family celebrations, wedding receptions, or traditional festivals.
Getty Images - Kilito Chan
By: Stéphane Lagarde Follow
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From our correspondent in Beijing
,
Stéphane Lagarde
with
Chi Xiangyuan
In silence, but for some with a smile on their lips, which displeased Internet users, the officials lifted large steel food warmers and poured long swigs of white salt onto the food intended for the guests.
The scene took place on January 30 in the city of Xiaohai, in the southern province of Guizhou.
The debate sparked by
videos
of the incident posted online has not subsided, according to the
South China Morning Post
.
Savory appetizers
A resident of Weining County where the savory feasts took place posted numerous comments on the networks.
“
Around the twelfth lunar month, many young people find themselves in our county.
There are a lot of people and it is an opportunity to organize banquets authorized for weddings or funerals.
But some families also want to celebrate
their baby's "first haircut"
, for example, with an exchange of gifts and that's forbidden!
»
Those who are in favor of this culture of banquets defend the traditions, while others criticize the extravagance and the proliferation of village feasts in recent years which would have a high social cost and ruin the savings of the elders, according to the authorities.
Because these feasts are accompanied by the distribution of the famous “hong bao” the red envelopes with money inside.
Inflation of fines
Everything becomes a pretext for celebration: the
newborn's "
first haircut ", intended to wish the child good luck for his studies - the hair being kept to make a souvenir brush -, but also: "
Before, we used to do the party for finishing the construction of a house or for entering university.
For older people's birthdays too.
It's a community effort.
At the end, we do the dishes (laughs).
We must not fall into excess of banqueting, a banquet every 2 or 3 years is good
.”
In small communities, it is difficult to refuse these invitations which multiply.
The hunt for expenses deemed excessive will therefore continue, the authorities said, but not with salt shakers.
At the beginning of the week, the central government warned local authorities against excessive authority and an
inflation of fines
intended to compensate for the lack of revenue linked to the real estate crisis.
The Weining County government issued a statement saying that the officials who spoiled the meal were severely reprimanded and therefore had to apologize to the villagers.
Also read: Why doesn't the pork industry benefit from the Chinese New Year?
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