Civil servants can buy stocks, but they must abide by relevant regulations.

According to the provisions of the Civil Servant Law of the People's Republic of China, civil servants shall not engage in or participate in for-profit activities in violation of relevant regulations, or hold concurrent positions in enterprises or other for-profit organizations.

Therefore, civil servants cannot engage in activities such as stock investments in associated for-profit organizations.

When purchasing stocks, civil servants must abide by relevant laws, regulations and provisions such as the Securities Law of the People's Republic of China and shall not take advantage of their authority, influence from their positions, or use other improper means to solicit or forcibly buy or sell stocks, solicit or resell securities.

Equity certificates, etc.

At the same time, civil servants cannot use inside information to directly or indirectly buy and sell stocks and securities investment funds, or make suggestions to others for buying and selling stocks and securities investment funds.

Stock is a kind of marketable security, which is a share certificate issued by a joint-stock company to investors when raising capital. It represents the ownership of its holders (i.e. shareholders) to the joint-stock company.

This kind of ownership is a comprehensive right, such as participating in shareholder meetings, voting, participating in the company's major decisions, receiving dividends or sharing the dividend difference, etc., but it must also bear the risks caused by the company's operational errors.