State media reports have portrayed Xie Qin, a 38-year-old township party chief in southwestern Yunnan province, as a positive example of rehabilitation.
But the idea is unpopular among the public, with many taking to social media to express frustration at officials like Xie being given a second chance and even “rewarded” for their misconduct.
Xie was one of dozens of officials who went on a bender during a training session in February 2023 at a party school in Jianchuan county, Dali prefecture.
Details of their misconduct were widely publicised in a video released by the provincial graft-buster aiming to send a warning to others. It said the officials had spent four of the five training days indulging in “unauthorised” drinking and banqueting.
