FOR

Xiu Yangfeng

rednet.cn

People are worried Dongcheng District's program to send officials abroad in temporary positions will become just another opportunity for traveling at taxpayers' expense, and it's just an additional perk for civil servants.

I think this is questionable logic. After all, Dongcheng District's intention is to broaden civil servants' international vision. To send excellent civil servants to developed countries to learn the culture of clean government will inspire our officials in terms of ethics and methods of governance. This can never be obtained from books.

During the process of reform and opening up, it's important for Chinese officials to have personal and extensive knowledge of advanced countries to find out why they are advanced in governance. If the officials' temporary overseas service program succeeds in its goals, the budget of 50 million yuan is worthwhile.

Liang Jiangtao 

Southern Metropolis Daily

Undoubtedly, we can learn from the U.S. mode of government operation. Despite the differences in political system, against the background of market economy, governments of different countries share a lot in common in terms of macro governance and public management. In U.S. government departments, service, efficiency, governance and enforcement are emphasized. 

It's not that civil servants in the United States are better than Chinese civil servants, but the United States boasts a complete set of strict assessment mechanisms for civil servants. Learning from the U.S. experience is not to copy everything they do. Meanwhile, it doesn't help if Chinese officials learn only from books, the Internet or just have classes during short visits. Only by serving in posts in a real environment will it be possible to pick up the essence of a good mode of government operation.

He Yong

dahe.cn

The public does not need to worry about civil servants' temporary overseas service programs. Two measures will ensure these officials do not waste time in foreign government sectors. First, these officials should be put under the control of the relevant U.S. government departments, which means they should act in accordance with U.S. requirements for civil servants. If anyone violates U.S. regulations for its civil servants, they must be punished by their employers or China's corresponding governmental sectors accordingly and even be removed from their posts at home. Second, when officials return from the United States they must go through tailored tests. If they fail in the tests, they should not be promoted or should be demoted.

Indeed, to send officials abroad for training will cost a lot of money, but if officials can really learn something practical, it will be more helpful than just simply receiving theoretical training in foreign universities.