I may have to set up a special paypal donation link; it sounds like these local Party officials need our help.
Chinese officials ran up a bill at a rural restaurant so large it will take the cash-strapped local government 36 years to pay it off, the Beijing Evening News reported on Monday.
Over four years of frequenting the restaurant in northern Shaanxi province, local officials had paid only a tenth of their $24,000 total tab, the paper said.
“The town government can only pay ($604) a year and they owe ($21,749), so it will take 36 years to pay back — that’s a lifetime,” Wei Zhongqin, the owner of the now bankrupt restaurant, was quoted as saying.
It is common for a rural town in China to be flat broke.
The paper did not say why Wei had let the customers run up such a large bill or why the town was expected to pay for them.
Imagine that, a government official expecting the people he represents to pay his bills. A tip to the restaurant owner: Kiss the money goodbye.
1
By Martyn
Scandalous, obviously, that officials could run up such an extravagant
bill but I’m sure that the now bankcrupt restaurant owner greedily and joyfully played along with it all for 4 years.
Again, the Chinese people lose.
June 21, 2005 @ 5:38 pm | Comment
2
By richard
Martyn, do you ever sleep?? You were posting here six hours ago.
June 21, 2005 @ 5:45 pm | Comment
3
By Martyn
Haha. No mate, I didn’t sleep last night as one of my doggies is a bit poorly, nothing serious like, and if I didn’t stay up then my girlfriend would have, so I did the honourable thing.
Anyway, I’m in the middle of a year off working. Why do you think I post so much?! (I take a year’s holiday every time I change company, this is my third!!).
June 21, 2005 @ 7:15 pm | Comment
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By Shanghai Slim
Martyn, what kind of work do you do, if you don’t mind me asking?
No details necessary, I want to respect online privacy, I’m just curious what general field you toil in.
June 21, 2005 @ 10:52 pm | Comment
5
By Martyn
Liability.
June 22, 2005 @ 1:56 am | Comment