More than 300 officials in Meishan, Southwest China's Sichuan province, have made an open pledge that they will not seek "nominal kinship", the making of acquaintances and connections with non-relatives. This follows a local ban which forbids members of the Communist Party of China of using the time-honored tradition. Comments:

Once public power is involved in "kinship", civil servants may feel morally responsible for their "kin", even violating Party regulations to meet their requests. Those in non-blood kinship with high-ranking officials might end up being power brokers who infringe on public interests for their own gains. The Meishan government's ban on nominal kinship not only deals a blow to the potential trade between power and money, but also protects local officials from corruption.

rednet.cn, July 25

To avoid the latent dangers of nominal kinship requires both supervisors acting tougher to place power in a cage, and government officials upholding the rule of law. In other words, if all supervision and enforcement are strictly in line with the rule of law, and officials resist being involved in factional activities such "kinship" will be harmless.

cnhubei.com, July 25

"Kinship" ties between non-relatives are not the problem per se; it is the embedded corruption that has to be rooted out. Tightened supervision and enforcement of rules that show no mercy to corrupt officials and activities should play a key role in China's ongoing anti-graft campaign. Otherwise, political factions will remain despite the ban on nominal kinship.

Southern Metropolis Daily, July 25

The management of the "kinship" between non-relatives does not mean traditional culture is being abandoned. Instead, it represents a reordering of local officialdom. Making Party members pledge allegiance to the rule of law is not a rude intervention in their personal choices, because they are obliged to give up the tradition of nominal kinship before it leads them to abuse their power.

Xiaoxiang Morning Post, July 25