Questioning public opinion today, the deputy director shouted "grievances" to the media: the money for the wedding banquet was paid by her in-laws, and the car was found by herself, without asking the leader. In order to avoid suspicion, before each wedding performance, the host emphasized that it was invited by the woman's parents. At the same time, he said that he was a grass-roots village cadre and knew that the central authorities did not allow trouble, but his in-laws were southerners and had opened several companies. Before the couple got married, it was agreed that the woman's family would pay for it.
However, according to the traditional custom in China, the organizers of the wedding banquet are mainly men. About 400 male and female relatives and friends came to attend the wedding at this grand banquet in the National Convention Center. It is reported that the gifts presented by the guests ranged from 500 yuan to 1000 yuan or 2,000 yuan. How many of these 400-odd people's gifts are from in-laws from other places, and how many are from Ma Linxiang? Obviously, someone came for the position of deputy director of his village Committee. Ma Linxiang's claim that he avoided suspicion and did not hold a luxury wedding banquet is untenable.
Marriage is an important event in life, and the wedding banquet is a folk custom. It is understandable to invite friends and relatives to hold a lively and moderate wedding reception. However, the wedding banquet of an ordinary village official was held at the National Convention Center. For my son's wedding banquet for three days, the first car, Rolls Royce, was followed by a row of luxury cars such as BMW and Mercedes Benz. With the help of the stars, 2 10 tables were set up in the temporary hall, each table was 8000 yuan.
If this is placed in the homes of ordinary people, it may just be "envy", but it is placed on a deputy director of the village party secretary. While many people lament that "the village head is not regarded as a cadre", the luxury of the son's wedding banquet will inevitably make people think. Do village officials collect money in disguise? Where does the money of village officials come from? Is it legal income or illegal income? Why are you unhappy doing things that are not good for you? Did you take the opportunity to do something important, or even take this opportunity to be greedy?
Facts have proved that weddings and funerals are becoming a hotbed of corruption and a high-incidence area of illegal activities. Many corrupt officials engage in the problem of "power rent-seeking" by officials in the name of "weddings, funerals and weddings". Some people ridicule the village cadres for their small power, little money and low status, saying that he is a "seven-product sesame official" but he is still old and can only be called a "rapeseed official" at most. However, after this luxurious wedding banquet, the people can only sigh: "Don't treat the village head as a cadre." What's more, organizing such a wedding, the village cadres "know that there are tigers in the mountains and tend to be in the middle reaches of the mountains." No matter how stressful it is, the wedding banquet is still so luxurious that ordinary people are amazed. The reason is very intriguing.
Five major anxieties reflected in the luxury wedding banquet of Beijing village officials! (Author: Bi Hanfeng)
The strong concern about such a luxurious wedding banquet for village officials actually reflects some outstanding problems in our society and also reflects the extreme anxiety and dissatisfaction of people at present.
The first is the issue of saving face of China people. China people are particularly proud of their faces. They are really proud of their faces. Some people go to great lengths, not only to pursue luxury, but also to save face. In today's face concept, "showing off wealth" is always regarded as having face, that is, having money means having face. As for culture, faith and morality, I'm afraid they are no longer in the face.
The second is the problem of luxury consumption. A wedding banquet costs millions of yuan. It's amazing to have a big banquet and invite stars. And such luxury wedding banquets are frequently staged in many places, not only officials, but also people. The luxury wedding banquet of the coal boss in those days, and a groom recently rented a helicopter to pick up the bride for 200,000 yuan, all reflected the abnormal problem of luxury consumption. Thrift has become a symbol of meanness, but luxury has become fashion and face. China people, from the government to the people, are proud of spending money like water.
The third is the problem of official corruption under absolute power. Although village officials are not officials in China, their power is not small, especially in Beijing, which is located in the capital. Village officials are naturally not a small role. For example, not long ago, a village official embezzled tens of millions, no less than those corrupt officials at the tiger level. Village officials live with the people, and the possible corruption around them is even more hated by the people. Seeing such a luxurious wedding banquet will naturally remind people of corruption. Without corruption, there would not be so much money. In China, corruption lies not in the size of official positions, but in the concentration of power, which is not subject to supervision and restriction. Even village officials who are restricted by the organic law of villagers' committees and the right to recall voters do not seem to have stopped the "luxury corruption" of village officials.
The fourth is the gap between the rich and the poor. Perhaps some people envy a luxurious wedding banquet, and if there is such a condition, I am afraid so. We can feel the great anxiety caused by the gap between the rich and the poor. A wedding banquet is hard for many poor people to earn all their lives. Some people are still struggling to survive, but how much a wedding banquet is wasted. According to the village official, he doesn't have much money, but his in-laws are rich in business. We don't know how much money there is, but judging from this wedding banquet, there is naturally a lot of money, which will of course cause people to question whether the distribution of wealth is fair.
The fifth is the question of customs. The village official in Beijing said, "I am from Qingheying Village. It is a custom in our countryside to hold a running banquet. We set up a shed in the community and invited the villagers to dinner. Everyone has something to do. I made about 200 tables before and after, and spent about 200,000. " People who hold this view should be in the majority, that is, there are still many cadres in party member who are still thinking about doing great things. In their view, this is not only a question of accepting gifts, but also a question of customs and habits. Although this custom is not good, it is not easy to change it at once. Moreover, some people have given many gifts on the grounds that they have given them in the past, so they can't give them away for nothing, so they have to continue to do it.
As a wedding banquet, it is often unbearable because it involves many issues such as party discipline, customs, face culture, the gap between the rich and the poor, and so on. Where is the fundamental road? It is particularly urgent to clarify politics, establish beliefs and show morality, especially to solve the concentration of official power and the polarization between the rich and the poor and show social fairness and justice. The current "eight regulations", "anti-four winds" and the upcoming reform of the Third Plenary Session will inject vitality and motivation into this.
5. Ma Linxiang, a village cadre who held a big wedding for his son, was dismissed.
According to media reports, Ma Linxiang, deputy director of Qingheying Village Committee in Laiguangying Township, made a big fuss about his son's marriage during the National Day, which violated the relevant regulations of the central government and caused bad influence among the masses. The Commission for Discipline Inspection of Chaoyang District, Beijing has instructed the township party committee to dismiss its deputy director of the village committee in accordance with relevant legal procedures. The Chaoyang District Commission for Discipline Inspection said that at present, the investigation team has not found that it used public funds and property to hold a wedding, and will continue to conduct an in-depth investigation on this matter.
It is understood that during the National Day, Ma Linxiang held a three-day wedding banquet for his son, and the wedding venue held on the 6 th was the Grand Ballroom of the National Convention Center. In addition, some actors from "Liu Laogen Grand Stage" were invited to perform. Ma Linxiang said in an interview that he spent more than 200,000 yuan on the water table in the village two days ago, and the rest was given by his in-laws.
The Commission for Discipline Inspection of Chaoyang District said that in order to curb extravagance and waste and strictly implement the eight central regulations, the district committee studied and formulated the Notice of party member Cadres in Chaoyang District on Further Implementing the Eight Regulations, Advocating Strict Economy and Strengthening Supervision and Management in view of the common problems in weddings, funerals and celebrations. In order to stop extravagance and waste, cadres in party member are required to achieve "four prohibitions and four strictness": no big talk about weddings, funerals and celebrations, and strict reporting procedures; It is not allowed to accept gifts and gifts that may affect the fair execution of official duties, and strictly guard against taking the opportunity to collect money; It is not allowed to use public funds for reimbursement or others to pay the operating expenses that should be borne by me, and it is strictly forbidden to use public funds for gifts; It is forbidden to illegally use official vehicles and occupy other public resources, and strictly control the abuse of public rights. In addition, Chaoyang District will hold a special working meeting to inform the situation and reiterate the detailed requirements. In the next step, the Chaoyang District Commission for Discipline Inspection will further strengthen supervision and inspection. Acts that violate the eight central regulations and the spirit of the notice of the district Committee will be found together, investigated and dealt with together, and will never be tolerated. At the same time, the media and all walks of life are also welcome to supervise violations of discipline.
6. Expert opinion: The rise of traditional bad customs deserves vigilance.
Gao Wei, secretary-general of Beijing Folklore Society and member of Beijing Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Expert Committee, interpreted the evolution of wedding banquets, bride price and money in China for thousands of years from the perspective of history and folklore. He pointed out that the trend of wedding comparison rose more than 10 years ago and was extremely simplified in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China. It is suggested that government departments, social organizations and the media should work together to actively guide the abandonment of bad habits.
In ancient weddings, relatives and friends also gave "money", but most of them were in kind. Dignitaries usually send some jewelry and silk, and old hens and hunting prey usually send them to express their good wishes. During the more than 20 years from the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC) to the end of the "Cultural Revolution", the "Zhou Li" in the wedding ceremony was completely abolished and the wedding ceremony was extremely simplified. At the end of the "Cultural Revolution", a wave of reform and opening up was ushered in, and weddings and related ceremonies were slowly revived. The real trend of wedding comparison is in the decade since the new century. The gap between the rich and the poor gradually widened, and the rich took the lead in "getting married only once in their lives" and gradually began to hold luxury weddings. Behind this practice, people pay too much attention to material civilization. It is worth noting that marriage has an economic foundation and old traditional customs have emerged.