Chinese officials who keep mistresses or abandon their families could lose their jobs according to new regulations released Sunday, the South China Morning Post reported. The 55-article regulation on penalties for misconduct by civil servants, which takes effect on June 1, also targets officials who refuse to support elderly relatives, disobey the one-child policy or are guilty of other behavior that "seriously violates social ethics". Other blacklisted activities include taking drugs, engaging in commercial sex, gambling and offering protection for gambling activities, taking up overseas residency and refusing to return to China, and involvement in "superstitious activities which cause adverse influence". Punishments include warnings, demotions and sackings. Penalties will also be awarded to those who try to manipulate grass-roots elections, take revenge on whistleblowers, destroy complaint letters or tip off other officials about public complaints. The new regulations represent a considerable widening of the net on corruption, previous rules having mainly focused on bribes and kickbacks. It remains to be seen what will be done to ensure effective enforcement.
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