Most grass-roots civil servants will not be receiving any gifts from their employers during the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival, and those in the private sector are only likely to receive gifts worth less than 500 yuan ($78), the China News Service reported.
The gifts vary from moon cakes, tea and cooking oil to gift cards and shopping vouchers. Among them, moon cakes are the most popular choices for the festival, which falls on Sunday. "Most companies buy boxes of moon cakes worth between 100 and 200 yuan for their employees," according to a Beijing-based pastry shop.
These humble gifts have annoyed some workers, with a cell phone company employee, surnamed Zhang, expressing his discontent over only receiving a box of nuts this year.
"We've been working so hard, yet the gift is so cheap," he complained.
But others are satisfied with their festival bonuses. A real estate salesman surnamed Yao said he was grateful for the moon cakes he received. "I cannot go back home this Mid-Autumn Festival due to my work. It is a great relief to get some moon cakes for the festival," he told the media.
In contrast, most grass-roots civil servants are barred from receiving any gifts during the festival, as a result of China's anti-corruption campaign.
"We used to receive a 500-yuan bonus for the festival, but this year we only get a movie ticket," an employee of a State-owned Beijing-based publishing house, surnamed Yu, said.
"Those grass-roots civil servants should also enjoy a festival bonus," Wang Yukai, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Governance, told the Global Times. "Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional Chinese festival, banning civil servants from receiving festival bonus would hurt their feelings. Corruption should be dealt with, but civil servants' legal rights should not be sacrificed for that," he said.
