China: No sex! No gluttony! No golf!

China’s ruling Communist Party has issued a list of discipline violations, applicable to all 88 million party members, as it tightens rules to prevent officials from engaging in corruption, according to a Guardian report, which added that tales of extravagant living, including banquets and expensive rounds on the golf course, have prompted public anger as government officials supposedly live modest, morally exemplary lives.

“Party members must separate public and private interests, put the public’s interest first and work selflessly,” the official stance was quoted in a related Xinhua report that also claimed party members must “champion simplicity and guard against extravagance.”

The new discipline regulations explicitly list extravagant eating and drinking and playing golf as violations, which were not included previously, according to the Xinhua report.

Beyond golf, the new rules also mention “improper sexual relations,” broadening the scope of behavior that before only referred to “keeping paramours and conducting adultery,” the Guardian claimed, adding that the charge of sexual impropriety is often leveled at high-ranking officials as evidence of immorality.

Xie Chuntao, a professor with the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, was quoted by Xinhua: “Some improper sexual relationships may only involve moral rather than legal issues. The previous [requirements] left loopholes.”

Forming factions that seek to split the party is also newly banned, the Guardian stated, as is hiding personal issues that should be reported.