Want China Times, Xinhua 2015-05-09
China's use of social media to encourage public tip-offs about corrupt or unprofessional official practices is gaining steam.
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| Smartphone users in Taiyuan, Shanxi province. (File photo/CNS) |
China's use of social media to encourage public tip-offs about corrupt or unprofessional official practices is gaining steam.
In
Qinhangdao city of north China's Hebei province, more than 20,000 citizens have
used an app launched in August which enables them to report officials'
"undesirable work styles" such as bureaucracy and extravagance to the
city's discipline watchdog.
Discipline
staff have received more than 300 complaints via the app, said an official with
the Qinhuangdao Municipal Discipline Inspction Commission of the Communist
Party of China (CPC).
Authorities
have handled over 200 of the cases, punishing 30 officials for offences ranging
from driving government cars for personal affairs to organizing extravagant
banquets for family weddings or funerals.
"A
small mobile phone can help solve a big problem. Every mobile phone is a tool
for inquiry and everyone is a supervisor," said Hao Zhanmin, secretary of
the commission.
Since late
2012, the new Chinese leadership has launched campaigns against corruption and
misconduct among officials. More than 100,000 officials have been punished.
With an
increasing number of smartphone users, WeChat and Weibo, both instant messaging
services popular in China, have made it easier for the public to expose
violators to authorities.
The CPC
Central Commission for Discipline Inspection launched its own mobile
application in January.
Whistleblowing
channels like apps and WeChat or Weibo platforms have also been adopted among
discipline inspection bodies in Beijing as well as Shandong and Zhejiang
provinces.
Beijing's
discipline inspection watchdog recently opened a WeChat account, publicizing
the contact details for six inspection teams.
Social
media is not the only technology being used to ensure professionalism among
officials. Some judicial bodies have adopted face recognition machines to
monitor employees' attendance, in order to curb laziness at the workplace.
"After
using the system for some time, the phenomena of arriving at work late and
leaving early has been reduced a lot," said Wang Guorui, an official with
the Changchun Intermediate People's Court in northeast China's Jilin Province.
The CPC is
keeping pace with the times to explore new technological means to help fight
corruption or bureaucracy, said Zhu Lijia, a professor with the Chinese Academy
of Governance.
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