Civil Servants in China Face Sack for Keeping a Mist

China's 6.5 million civil servants were warned yesterday that they could be fired for keeping a mistress or neglecting elderly relatives, under new ethical guidelines aimed at curbing rampant corruption.

The prime minister, Wen Jiabao, signed the code of conduct, which will extend deep into the private lives of bureaucrats once it comes into effect in June.

Officials face possible dismissal if they are caught with a prostitute or abusing drugs, according to the People's Daily.

Reflecting the resurgence of traditional Confucian values, they can also be demoted if they abandon their families or fail to look after their parents.

The regulations' main aim is to prevent the abuse of power for financial gain. As well as bribery and embezzlement, civil servants can be sacked for setting up side-businesses without authorisation.

Beijing has been trying to rein in corruption for several years, but despite a handful of high-profile arrests - such as Chen Liangyu, the party secretary of Shanghai - the problem remains endemic.

The state media have linked several recent cases to the culprits' "degenerate lifestyles" - a term that normally refers to at least one mistress, as well as gambling. Last June, the former deputy mayor of Beijing was sacked amid reports that he used illegal funds to keep a pleasure palace on the city outskirts. The media said his mistress turned him in because she was jealous of his relationship with another woman. Four months later, the director of the national bureau of statistics, Qiu Xiaohua, was sacked amid claims that he milked public funds to maintain a bigamous relationship with a woman in Shanghai.

Reflecting government fears that many officials are fleeing the country to enjoy their ill-gotten gains and extramarital affairs, the new regulations also include punishments for civil servants who overstay overseas trips. Xinhua News Agency reported last week that 300 government employees have escaped overseas since 1998. In the 30 years since the start of China's market reforms, 4,00l back-row talent such as Newcastle's Ben Woods, Saracens' Dave Seymour and Quins' Will Skinner in at the deep end or save them for the England Saxons squad for the Churchill Cup, to be named tomorrow.

Forrester's latest unlucky twist and the continued absence of Bristol's Dan Ward-Smith will raise the hopes of the Falcons' Phil Dowson and the Saracens No8 Ben Skirving, and Worcester's inspired effort to avoid relegation last weekend has done Pat Sanderson's reputation no harm. There are set to be at least half a dozen gatherid na.es when Ashton unveils his party today. Whether any of them will force their way into England's World Cup squad of 30 is debatable and the expedition is already a far cry from the equivalent tour to the southern hemisphere in 2003 when Clive Woodward's squad offered a compelling glimpse of their World Cup pedigree. This time Ashton would prefer a blank summer but the relentless fixture list means he must pursue an alternative strategy and explore the depth of English-qualified talent in the Premiership.

Scotland's captain Jason White will delay his comeback until the warm-up matches against Ireland and South Africa in August rather than play for Scotland A in the Churchill Cup next month. The Sale flanker ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee when his studs caught in the Murrayfield turf against Romania in November and is targeting the pre-World Cup Tests at Murrayfield on August 11 and 25. "There is no point in coming back too early, getting injured and not playing in the World Cup at all," he said. "That would be a disaster."