Drinking binge at banquet kills Chinese official

[Coventina]

Source: Associated Press

BEIJING — One Chinese official is dead and another is in a coma after bouts of excessive drinking, state media said Monday in a report highlighting the dangers of a drinking culture connected with government and business work.

Jin Guoqing, a district deputy director of water resources in Wuhan, the capital of central Hubei province, fell unconscious while entertaining guests at an official banquet last week and died on the way to the hospital, the official China Daily said.

Hospital records indicated the 47-year-old's excessive drinking triggered a fatal heart attack, the English-language newspaper said.

Also last week, Lu Yanpeng, a district chief in southern Guangdong province, fell into a coma after drinking heavily while having dinner with a local Communist Party chief. Lu was rushed to a hospital, where he remains unconscious, the paper said.

The two cases highlight the heavy ritualized role drinking plays in business and government circles in China. Bai jiu, the potent rice liquor, is a permanent presence at elaborate banquets, where "Gan bei," or "Bottoms up," is the official toast.

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jm2Gynr5AdfUfMKxn4vE8SUp7lIgD99I1KLG2

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Man, that's some "Party" they've got there in China!

[Buzz Clik]

1. I've seen this Gan bei being done before. I'm a bit surprised that more don't keel over.

Some of these guys can really hold their liquor.

[Rebubula]

2. Meh...

..Rank Amateurs.

[callous taoboy]

3. Too bad they weren't into binge pot smoking...

They would have ended up having nice naps.

[AlecBGreen]

5. lol

they dont know what it is. when I was living there I found a 12' plant (more like a tree) growing on the side of the road outside my apartment

[AlecBGreen]

4. baijiu is d a n g e r o u s

there's a reason its called the liquid lobotomy.

I got hammered off it one time and now just the smell makes me want to spew. awful, nasty stuff.

the chinese can DRINK. im not kidding.

[On the Road]

7. You Need to Get Better Stuff

That Red Star crap they sell in flasks is horrible. Upper end alcohol is much smoother and a little sweet.

But you are right about the Chinese. Not only is their capacity of alcohol astounding, they'll get up the next morning and work a 13-hour day.

[damntexdem]

6. I guess the banquet must have been really boring.

So "gan bei" is just a deadly form of escape.

[Maru Kitteh]

8. I knew this was a problem in Japan and some other Asian countries but didn't know about China

Somehow, I thought of the Chinese as being more.... reserved in matters of excess.