In a recent report by Epoch Times on May 13, 2025, it was revealed that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials are often indulging in extravagant lifestyles, with some using political study sessions as an excuse to gather and drink alcohol, leading to tragic consequences. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of the CCP announced today that a secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee in Henan Province, along with 4 other officials, consumed 4 bottles of liquor together, resulting in one person’s death.
According to Xinhua News Agency on May 13, the CCDI publicly disclosed that on March 22, during a meeting in Henan’s Xinyang City, Luo Mountain County, 10 officials violated regulations by indulging in food and drinks during what is known as the “Eight Central Regulations.”
The main official involved in the incident was Li Xianlin, a member of the Luo Mountain County Party Committee and Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee. Other officials included Ye Jinguang, Deputy Secretary of the Xinyang Municipal Party Committee Political and Legal Affairs, Lin Zhiyou, a Level III researcher of the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection stationed in the Party Committee Political and Legal Affairs, Bao Qian, a Level IV researcher in the Inspection and Supervision Group of the Municipal Party Committee Political and Legal Committee, Zhang Yu, the Director of the Public Safety Promotion Department, Duan Weiwei, the Party Secretary and Chief Prosecutor of the Luo Mountain County Procuratorate, Wang Haiyang, the Political Commissar of the Luo Mountain County Public Security Bureau, as well as Huang Jiacheng, Fang Jianbing, and Xia Yu, Deputy Secretaries of the County Party Committee Political and Legal Affairs. The official report stated that Li Xianlin arranged a banquet which could potentially affect the impartial execution of public duties, and the aforementioned officials dined together at a restaurant in Xinyang City.
During the dinner, Li Xianlin, Lin Zhiyou, Duan Weiwei, Wang Haiyang, and Xia Yu consumed 4 bottles of liquor, with one person dying after drinking alcohol on the same day. Subsequently, the Political and Legal Affairs Committee of the Luo Mountain County Party Committee submitted a report to the county committee, concealing the drinking situation of the deceased. County Party Secretary Yu Guofang was aware that the report was false but did not report it to the higher authorities. To cover up the incident of drinking resulting in one person’s death, Li Xianlin and the other 5 individuals raised funds to compensate the deceased’s family, with part of the funds borrowed from the management service object.
It was officially stated that relevant officials have been dealt with accordingly, with Li Xianlin expelled from the party, dismissed from official positions, and subjected to investigation and detention. Other officials involved in this case have been removed from party positions, dismissed from official duties, or given serious warnings within the party.
This incident is just a microcosm of the extravagant and reckless behavior in the CCP officialdom. Similar events have occurred frequently. In December 2022, 6 officials in the CCP indulged in drinking during a gathering at the Qinghai Provincial Party School during the “Twentieth Congress,” where they consumed 7 bottles of liquor, leading to one person’s death. The incident was only made public nearly six months later.
Recently, the CCP’s state media has been promoting Xi Jinping’s enforcement of the “Eight Central Regulations” issued at the beginning of his term, claiming to forbid improper use of public funds for dining and drinking. However, Xi Jinping himself is known to enjoy drinking, especially Maotai liquor.
According to the Maotai Liquor Report on June 30, 2005, on June 20, then Secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee Xi Jinping met with Maotai Group Chairman Ji Keliang and Maotai Liquor Co., Ltd. Chairman Yuan Renguo at the West Lake State Guesthouse. Xi Jinping mentioned that he has always liked drinking Maotai liquor, with Secretary-General Li Qiang jokingly remarking, “Our Secretary Xi has such a healthy body because of long-term consumption of Maotai liquor.”
In recent years, the CCP’s interactions with its “communist brothers” have often involved Maotai liquor. On March 26, 2018, Xi Jinping hosted a banquet for visiting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Observant netizens noticed from the photos that the servers were holding two bottles of “Maotai Short-neck Sauce Bottle,” a rare type of Maotai liquor designated for special occasions, with online specialty stores pricing it as high as 1.28 million RMB per bottle.