Third, if one has violated Article 258 of the Criminal Law by marrying a woman who is legally wedded to another man, he could be convicted for bigamy according to the law.

And fourth, if it is established that one has had sexual intercourse with an intellectually challenged woman, a judge can convict him for rape even if the woman consented to the act.

Legally, one's conviction depends on the interpretation and application of different articles, but the Party's discipline doctrine spells out clear regulations and punishments for officials committing adultery. According to Article 150 of the Discipline Regulations of the Communist Party of China, the most lenient punishment an official could get for committing adultery is severe warning, but if the case is serious he/she could be expelled from the Party and removed from his/her official post.

The Party's discipline doctrine is thus stricter than the national laws. This means that while ordinary citizens have to just abide by the country's laws, Party members have to follow both the national laws and the Party's discipline doctrine. So the decision of the Chinese authorities to remove Ji and Xu from his post is more than justified.

Some people taking part in the online debate that Xu's case has sparked have suggested that China recognizes adultery both as an immoral act and a crime. Indeed, some countries - France, the United States and Italy, for example - recognize adultery as a crime, but the ground realities in China are different from those in other countries and it should not be expected to follow the example of the West on every issue.

We should stay within the parameters of the law while discussing hot issues. Adultery is more of a social and moral issue than a legal matter, but the Party's discipline doctrine is there to take care of the possible consequences that such acts could lead to.

The author is a professor of law at China Women's University.

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