An adviser to China's parliament has called for the enactment of laws to control the weight of civil servants in a bid to rein in corruption.
The aim is to prevent civil servants from squandering public money on expensive meals, said Miu Shouliang, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, China's top advisory body.
Miu, a businessman from Shenzhen currently attending the annual session of the CPPCC National Committee that started on Friday, did not elaborate on any details, saying that measures should also contribute to regulating their working styles and improving morality.
However, some experts doubted the scientific basis of his plan.
"The motive is positive, but it sounds not so reasonable as it measures the civil servants' performance by the standard of weight," said Zhou Zhiren, deputy director of the Institute of Government Management at Beijing University.
Sources from Beijing municipal personnel bureau said that weight standards have been imposed by some special organs in the enrollment of civil servants, but it is unwise to apply the method to a wide range, as weight is an indicator of health.
The key issue is to crack down on corruption, which is a criminal term instead of a moral concept, Zhou added.
Another professor from the university said the idea was "quirky," stressing that morality could not be measured by legal standards.
(Xinhua)