Golf 'OK' for govt officials if they pay

Can officials play golf while the nation steps up efforts to clamp down on corruption and promote austerity?

The answer is yes - if they pay out of their own pockets.

Playing golf itself is not a wrongdoing, the Discipline Inspection and Supervision News, the flagship newspaper of the Central Commission for Disciplinary Inspection, said on Tuesday.

However, government officials will be subject to punishment if they accept membership cards illicitly, including through sports clubs, resorts or entertainment establishments. Other activities like using public money to play golf, or playing during office hours, also violate discipline rules, according to Si Xiaojian, deputy director of the investigation department of the anti-graft commission in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

The paper cited the example of Lin Chunsong, former deputy mayor of Wuyishan, Fujian province, who accepted a prepaid golf card worth nearly 14,000 yuan ($2,170) from people whose interests were under his sphere of influence.

A nationwide campaign against corruption and the "eight point rules", usually referred to as austerity rules, were introduced in December 2012.

The rules aim to reduce bureaucracy, extravagance and undesirable work practices among Party members. With clauses focusing on various forms of corruption, such as banquets at public expense, unnecessary travel and meetings, and unauthorized use of government cars, the rules have played a significant role in the anti-corruption campaign.