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INTROSPECTION:Do I really need a new Mercedes? (WANG WEIYAN) | When Beijing lawyer Li Jinsong heard the news that the Ministry of Finance would publicize the expenditure budgets of departments directly under the Central Government, he was overjoyed.
"This news on March 8 was quite out of my expectation and also very exciting to me," Li told ChinAfrica. "This is the first time that central government departments announced to publicize their expenditures. I believe it has set a precedent for the government spending to remain under public scrutiny." The State Council required ministries and commissions to publicize their expenditures on overseas trips, vehicle purchases and maintenances, and receptions, which is commonly known in China as the "san gong" spending, before the end of June this year.
The government's opaque spending is widely criticized as one of the major sources of corruption and due to the lack of transparency, people have no way of knowing how their taxes are used, said Li, who, as a private citizen, sent emails in early May to more than 20 central government departments urging them to make public their expenditures.
More transparent
The Ministry of Science and Technology was the first to publicize its expenditure on April 14. Thereafter, more ministries and commissions followed, but mostly in July, defaulting on the deadline of June set by the State Council. As of August 9, a total of 92 departments directly under the Central Government had publicized their spending and budgets, leaving nine silent.
According to the released figures, the government expenditures of the 92 ministries and commissions on overseas trips, vehicle purchases and maintenances, and receptions in 2010 was 9.47 billion yuan ($1.48 billion) and the budgets for 2011 combined to be 9.423 billion yuan ($1.47 billion).
"I will continue to urge the rest by all means until they do as the Central Government asked them to do," said Li.
Peng Fei, Deputy Director of the National Survey Research Center at Renmin University of China, said this move indicates the Chinese Government is committed to the path of open and transparent governance and combating corruption. "2011 is a great leap forward for China's governance to be more scientific and democratic," Peng told China Economic Weekly.
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