Official stresses government transparency

A senior official yesterday called for more efforts to make government departments at central level more transparent and open to the public.

He Yong, a member of the Secretariat of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, addressed the topic at a joint ministry conference to share experiences in increasing government transparency.

Government transparency covers various aspects, from policy-making to implementation and supervision, the official said.

Down-to-earth measures are urged for central government departments to open administrative affairs and corresponding procedures, which are of great concern to people, said He, who is also deputy secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

The Ministry of Commerce, for example, has set up a special centre, which provides a one-stop service for applicants in dealing with different administrative affairs, said Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai.

The centre can handle more than 200 administrative issues every day, he added.

More than 37,000 calls have been taken by the Ministry of Land and Resources since it set up a free hotline to the public two years ago, said Vice-Minister Wang Shiyuan.

To promote more government transparency at ministry level, the central government has established a "national leadership task force for opening administrative affairs to the public," officials said.

All administrative information, except those involving State secrets, business and individual privacy that need to be protected, could be opened to the public, according to Chinese law.

"The development of government transparency in China is in its initial period (when compared with developed countries)," said Wang Baoming, a professor at the China National School of Administration.

Some local governments, such as Shanghai, Nanjing and Zhengzhou, have already put into effect new regulations on the release of government information during the past few years, he added.

Source: China Daily