Snow in Wenzhou on December 14 (photo: screenshot from a Beijing News video)

 An eastern Chinese city recently caused heated debate online after banning local government officials from using heating devices on milder winter days in order to save energy.

Staffers of city-level government departments in Wenzhou, East China’s Zhejiang Province, are allowed to use heating equipment only when the temperature is below 3 degrees C, according to a notice released by the Wenzhou authorities over the weekend.

Even when the local temperature falls below 3 degrees C, “the heat setting must not exceed 16 C,” read the notice.

The Wenzhou government confirmed the regulation to the Global Times on Wednesday, saying it was set based on the Zhejiang government’s request for reduction of energy consumption. “Other cities in Zhejiang also have similar rules,” said He Xiaodong, director of the Government Offices Administration of Wenzhou, which published the regulation.

“It is not very cold without heating devices here in winter,” He told the Global Times.

But some Wenzhou citizens reached by the Global Times didn’t agree. They said that they have to wear heavy down coats and scarves in the winter, as the average temperature in Wenzhou in December is below 10 degrees C but there is no central heating.

“It’s a kind of suffering without any heating devices; your feet can be as cold as ice even indoors,” said local resident Wang Yihan, who opposed the regulation. “People cannot focus on their work when they are very uncomfortable and keep shivering.”

In a video published by The Beijing News on Tuesday, a government official told the media that after the regulation, she was “freezing” in her office and had to use a hot-water bottle to get warm.

The video, having got 6.86 million views on Weibo as of 7:00 pm on Wednesday, caused heated discussion among Chinese netizens. 

Many people criticized the regulation for being too rigid and uncaring. “It’s formalism, stiffly following China’s advocation of reducing energy consumption,” a Weibo user commented on Thursday, saying it would be unfortunate if someone caught a cold at work and transmitted it to their colleagues.

Some other netizens applauded the rule, saying they were glad to see government officials take the initiative in saving energy.

An official told the Global Times on Wednesday that he personally supports this regulation, which he thinks is eco-friendly and flexible. “Actually the rule didn’t last long – the snow fell and the temperature dropped below 3 degrees C this week soon after it took effect,” he said.

The regulation will expire on December 31. It doesn’t cover general citizens who don’t work for Wenzhou’s city-level government organs, He told the Global Times.