Beijing gets more open to the public
Beijing authorities have established a system to guarantee immediate reaction to media reports and public opinion, as the local government actively accepts public supervision instead of taking media reports and disclosure of serious issues as “finding faults.”
An official from the publicity department under the Party committee of Daxing district in Beijing, told the Global Times on Wednesday that the district government will check with relevant district departments the very day any media reports a problem and will order a solution be found to the issue if the report is true.
Daxing’s cyberspace office also monitors media reports and postings on public social media platforms and will generate its own report every day, according to the official who required anonymity.
After a problem is resolved, local authorities will report
the fix to higher authorities and provide feedback to the media, the official said.
Cai Qi, Party chief of Beijing, also called for the municipal government to immediately respond to media reports at a monthly work conference held on November 30, Beijing Daily reported Wednesday.
Authorities should deal with issues raised by the media case by case and prevent the problem from reoccurring, Cai said.
The move shows the Beijing authority’s welcoming attitude to media supervision and their attention to people’s opinions, especially those expressed on social media, Zhu Wei, a professor at the China University of Political Science and Law, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
Zhu said the move by the Beijing authorities to value people’s opinions will serve as an example for all local governments.
Su Wei, a professor at the Party School of the Communist Party of China Chongqing Municipal Committee, told the Global Times on Wednesday that Chinese officials, especially those at local level, used to take media exposure as “finding faults” with them. He referred to a popular saying among officials that states that they need “to be fireproof, theft-proof and media-proof.”
Su referred to an example in late 2017 during the Beijing municipal government’s campaign to remove unsafe housing being reported on social media as “rejecting the low-end population.”
Beijing authority started to dismantle illegal buildings after a deadly fire in November 2017 killed 17 people, but the campaign forced thousands of migrant workers, most of whom lived in cheap, illegally built buildings, to leave their rented home.
Su said that there were good reasons for the campaign but it was poorly handled by the authorities who had a kneejerk reaction to the tragic fire and failed to consult the public and explain the need for evicting the tenants.
Beijing authorities’ new response to media reports shows they have learned from the incident and realized that misunderstandings can be avoided by an active and timely response to public opinion, Su noted.
Judicial open house
Beijing’s judicial system has also become more open to the public, suggested Beijing Daily, which reported Tuesday that 266 judicial administrative units in the city held their eighth annual open house on Monday to report their achievements over the past year to local residents.
Residents could take part in forums and discussions with judicial officials and evaluate their work through websites and WeChat accounts, according to the report.
Beijing judicial authorities formulated 34 new measures after studying more than 22,000 responses to their questionnaires and 3,000 suggestions collected during last year’s open house.
Su noted Beijing’s moves reflect local governments’ shift from being reluctant to deal with media and public opinion to actively accepting their supervision.
“The situation is changing as China is comprehensively advancing the rule of law. Government officials have become more aware that media reporting and public opinion can help them better understand the voice of the people and to more effectively serve the people,” Su said.