China is moving to suppress a culture of heavy post-work drinking as Beijing struggles to respond to rising outrage over allegations of sexual assault against women.
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the Chinese Communist party’s anti-corruption watchdog, said pressure to drink could lead to crimes and such practices should be replaced with “correct values”, according to a commentary on its website.
Separately, the culture ministry said it planned to ban songs from karaoke venues that spread “harmful information”. These included songs with lyrics which allegedly inspire listeners into drug taking, gambling and religion, as well as content deemed to endanger Chinese sovereignty. Companies that supply songs to venues were encouraged to flag lyrics that were potentially problematic.