BEIJING, July 8 (RIA Novosti) - Officials in the southwestern Chinese city of Meishan have been banned from having extramarital affairs, the China Daily paper said on Wednesday.

"Officials should persist in being upright and honest after work hours," the document, headlined Behavior Standards for Officials of Meishan After Eight Hours of Work, says.

Offenders who are caught violating the rules twice will face a 1,000-yuan ($146) fine and media coverage. Repeat offenders will be refused the opportunity of promotion. It is unclear, however, how the rule will work in practice.

Having as many lovers as possible is a common practice among Chinese officials, the paper quoted Jin Weizhi, a former general manager of a state-owned dairy company, as saying.

"They are a symbol of your status," he said. He also admitted that he had extramarital affairs with 13 women.

Xu Qiyao, the former director of a provincial construction bureau, gained notoriety for having 146 lovers. He was sentenced to death on corruption charges in 2001 but is still widely referred to as "he who had the most lovers."

"Meishan is faced with many tasks and difficulties. And emphasizing discipline among our officials is actually caring about them and protecting them in case they make mistakes," Jiang Renfu, the head of the city's Communist Party, told the China Daily.