Chinese drinks firms appeal government booze ban

BEIJING, Feb. 20 Kyodo

Alcohol manufacturers in a province in northern China will appeal against a ban on local government officials drinking booze at lunchtime, state-run media reported Wednesday.

The Henan Alcohol Association has hired a lawyer to contest the ruling, saying officials should be able to drink if it does not affect their work, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Eating in restaurants, accompanied with copious toasts of alcohol, is a common way of doing business in China, particularly among men.

Since the ban was introduced in Henan last year, restaurants have experienced a fall in revenue, Xinhua said.

More than 100 officials have been disciplined for breaking the ban, the report added.

An unnamed citizen in Xinyang in Henan was quoted by Xinhua as saying, ''In the past, some cadres often drank alcohol together at midday, which affected their work efficiency and style, but now the phenomenon has almost been stamped out.''

The central government admits that corruption and excessive bureaucracy are major problems in China and the state-controlled media regularly carries stories aimed at reassuring the public that the country's leaders are trying to rein in some officials' excesses.

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