Blackout calls for grassroots anti-graft drive

The severing of electricity supply to an area housing a KTV bar in Qixian county, Henan province, recently caused power outage in thousands of households, exposing the blatant abuse of power by the head of the power station.

Media reports say the power station head, surnamed Wang, and three other men went to the KTV bar in the afternoon to have a drink. And when the bar employees refused to serve them vintage wine for free, Wang and his companions, who were already drunk, went on the rampage in the bar.

Not content with having vandalized the place, Wang told the bar manager that he would demonstrate the "power of the electricity tiger'". He then called one of his subordinates at the power station and ordered him to cut off electricity supply to the area for an "emergency overhauling of a power facility". The power cut caused a blackout in about 3,000 households in more than 20 communities.

Apart from showing that many officials are yet to change their old working style and start serving the people in earnest, as required by the top leadership, the incident has also raised some very serious questions, which can be answered only through a thorough investigation.

First, why did Wang, an employee of a government-owned facility, go to a KTV bar for a drink during working hours? Didn't he know it was a serious dereliction of duty?

Second, did Wang and his companions pay for the drinks out of their own pockets or use taxpayers' money to foot their bills?

Third, why was Wang, who knew the consequences of cutting off power to the area, so arrogant and so indifferent to a public necessity over a "trivial dispute"? And is Wang a habitual abuser of power?

Of course, police should investigate the "power outage" incident and drag Wang (and his companions) to investigators to face punishment. But more importantly, local disciplinary authorities should start an in-depth probe against Wang, who has violated regulations that warn government employees to shun extravagance and adopt a "people-first" working style.

In the context of the country's ever-intensifying battle against harmful working styles, malpractices, extravagance and corruption, Wang's action shows the regulations issued by the Party and the government have not been effectively enforced at the grassroots level. It also shows that some of the grassroots officials are either unaware of or indifferent to laws and regulations.