Chinese county bans birthday parties for people under 70

BEIJING: A Chinese county has banned holding birthday parties for people under 70 years of age, citing huge financial burden for the community.

Besides, people over 70 years can only have a birthday banquet once in a decade, according to the regulations of Tongjiang county in Northeastern Sichuan Province.

County officials stated that the events were creating a huge financial burden on families paying for the meals, and on guests who have to give gifts, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post quoted local Chinese media as saying today.

The ban drew mixed response from people with many opposing the rules saying it was right to celebrate older people's longevity and that limiting the number of parties was wrong, the report said.

Some, however, have backed the move, arguing that residents in the country are not wealthy and the number of banquets held was excessive.

The local government has promised to revise the regulations because of the complaints it has received, but gave no details of what changes were planned, the report added.