Daily Lessons from Life 20 July 2009

"China officials die from heavy drinking
"Officials would "lose face" if they do not get guests drunk.": Official -Mon, Jul 20, 2009 AFP

BEIJING, CHINA - One Chinese official is dead and another in a coma in a pair of cases highlighting the risks of China's culture of drinking heavily to seal political or business deals, state media said on Monday.


Jin Guoqing, a district water resources chief in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, died last week of a heart attack after drinking excessively while entertaining official guests, Xinhua news agency said.

Also last week, Lu Yanpeng, a district chief in Zhanjiang city in southern Guangdong province, fell into a coma after drinking heavily during a dinner with a Communist Party official, it said.

They were just the latest casualties in a booze-soaked culture in which officials and businessmen are expected to ply guests with strong Chinese liquor at elaborate banquets amid cries of "gan bei," or "drain the glass."


Xinhua quoted an official in eastern Shandong province, who asked to remain anonymous, saying officials would "lose face" if they do not get guests drunk. "Neither my guests nor I want to get drunk but we have to play under the unspoken rule, which has been around for so long. We don't know how to do business otherwise," the official said.

Amid growing outrage in China over the flamboyant lifestyles of some government and Communist Party leaders, a number of Chinese cities have in recent years banned such binge drinking at lunchtime.


Xinhua said about 500 billion yuan (73 billion dollars) in public funds is spent each year on official banquets, nearly one-third of the nation's spending on dining out."

It is such a funny headline if not for the death of one human being and another human being in a coma!!

Lessons for me are:

1. to do the right thing in a macro environment and culture that expect otherwise is an uphill and constant struggle; and could be deadly if one did not negotiate it successfully! "Loss of face" if one is not able to get the guests drunk! Strange that rational and intelligent people will use that as an excuse rather than 'loss of life or cognitive capability' as the reason NOT to binge drink and get drunk!!;

2. I have known of friends who work in the government departments at a certain level that said his or her supervisors NEVER get into drinking bout with his or her guests! So, this 'loss of face if we don't drink till we are stupid' or 'that is how business are conducted in China' are not really the real reason! Probably the participants themselves like to drink in the 1st place!!;

3. tactics to learn to ward off binge drinking at business dinner is to get to know your hosts in advance. Prime them on your medical conditions that prohibit your from drinking in private before the public banquet starts as it will be seriously construed as 'loss of face' if invitation to 'bottoms up' were declined in public!! Also, with the Chinese become increasingly conscious of a healthy lifestyle, many officials who are really into performing a good job are NO LONGER into this drinking habit! Of course, there are still a big part of the population that cannot get away from this addiction! I can say slowly but surely the newer generation of Chinese officials are into holistic healthy lifestyle though the gifting culture is still very much alive!

As leaders we can set the example and shape the culture. If we decided that we will not drink till we are stupid and the message is communicated throughout the organization, to the clients, to the vendors, and to any other working partners, I am sure this wasteful and harmful practice will not take root in our organization!!