Shanghai has drawn a lot of eyeballs lately for its proposal to restrict public servants from going into business after leaving office.

The news came just days before last week's Fourth Plenary Session of the 17th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, where anti-corruption was high on the agenda.

The Shanghai regulation is not the first of its kind in the nation. The central government and various local governments have notified similar rules repeatedly over the years. So whether it is going to carry some real meaning this time or become yet another toothless regulation is truly debatable.