A Chop for the Lunch Break

Article 43 of the Chinese constitution declares that every worker has the right to rest. The only problem is that Article 43 neglects to state exactly when the rest can be taken. Interpreting the law themselves, government workers in Peking have traditionally assumed their right to xiuxi (rest) by taking a two-hour midday break. Everything from computers to car engines, it seems, are switched off during the period. But concern over flagging productivity last week led the State Council to issue a directive ordering the lunch break cut to one hour, effective on New Year's Day. "Alarm for lunchtime snoozers," proclaimed the government-controlled Xinhua News Agency. "The traditional Chinese lunchtime faces the chop."

But there will be compensation for the shortened lunch break: employees who now work from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. will be able to leave their jobs an hour earlier. If that trade-off works in Peking, the idea could spread to other cities and to nongovernment organizations where the midday rest is also a tradition. However, the rite of xiuxi may have become too ingrained to be rooted out so easily. Says one Peking writer: "The directive won't change much. It's like operating on a finger to cure an ulcer."