Following the publication of a complaint about the bad services on the No. 327 bus at the homepage of the website: www.mxwz.com.cn, two people were fired and 11 others were suspended and fined by the Shenyang Passenger Transportion Group of northeast China's Liaoning Province.

A passenger named Nao Nao complained on the website, which is called Minxinwang, or Public Opinion Web, recently that conductors on the No. 327 bus were very rude when selling tickets and answering passengers' questions.

When the complaint reached a senior official of the Shenyang Passenger Transportation Group, they immediately made a secret investigation into the case and found that what the complaint said was true.

This is only one of an array of complaints lodged by the common people on the website which have been addressed by concerned government organs and companies.

Yan Weimin, a farmer in Yongle Town of the Sujiatun District of Shenyang City complained on June 18 last year that a steel-making plant caused serious pollution in his hometown. The government of Sujiatun District organized a panel of experts from the technological supervison, power supply, environmental production, development planning, industrial and commercial departments to make an on-the-spot invesigation and confirmed that the complaint was true. A special meeting attended by concerned government departments was held immediately at which it was decided to shut down the steel plant.

Yan, the farmer, sent a letter to the website recently, saying "Now, my hometown is enjoying fresh air and crops are growing well."

Mingxinwang was jointly launched by the Liaoning Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, the provincial supervision bureau and the

Office for Correcting Malpractice of the Liaoning Provincial Government on May 21, last year.

Over the past year, more than 250,000 people have visited the website, which has received more than 5,310 complaints on issues ranging from governance, illegal charges, medical services, water and power supply, environmental and pollution. Most of the complaints have been handled properly and 83.7 percent of the people who lodged complaints expressed satisfaction with the handling.

A taxi driver surnamed Liu in Shenyang said, "The web is very good and it is a right place for us common people to report our difficulties and see them settled."

The new generation of the Chinese central leadership has held high the banner of "people first" and pointing out clearly that prominent priority will be placed on "correcting malpractice that harms the rights and interests of the people."

The fourth plenary meeting of the 16th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee called on the whole party to "adhere to the scientific, democratic and legal governance." The government work report delivered at the annual session of the National People's Congress in March also called on governments at various levels to act in line with the spirit of the fourth plenary session of the 16th CPC Central Committee and to speed up self-reform amd construction.

"The involvement of the masses, together with government organs and disciplined inspection and supervision departments, form a powerful force in correcting malpractice," said an official with the provincial office for correcting malpractice.

"No one can cover up proplems which are publicized on the web. Supervision by the masses has promoted the transparency of the work in correcting malpractices," said Zhao Ping, an official with the Shenyang City Discipline Inspection Commission.

The website now has linked up offices for correcting malpractice in 14 cities, 100 counties and districts and more than 70 industrial sectors of the Liaoning Province.

Li Keqiang, secretary of the CPC Liaoning Provincial Committee, called the Minxinwang a "bridge" linking the government of the general public, saying "the vitality and advantage of the web lies in the fact that it solves practical problems for the masses."

"In the current era of fast growth and rapid changes, it is very important to set up a communication mechanism between the government and the masses, and between the masses themselves," said Shen Dianzhong, head of the Sociology Research Institute under the Liaoning Provincial Academy of Social Sciences.

"Operation of the Minxinwang offers new ideas and choices for improving social management and coordinating social interest relations," said Shen.

Source: Xinhua