Officials kept on best behavior

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The assessment of local government officials in Fuyang city, East China's Zhejiang province, now includes the evaluation of their daily behavior outside office hours.

"The new assessment criteria will examine behavior in all sorts of daily situations after work, including the occurrences of illegal parking, speeding and improper manners," said Chen Ping, deputy director of the organization department of the city's Party committee.

The new assessment standards, designed to determine whether local officials behave appropriately when not at work, were added to the existing promotion assessment criteria for officials in late 2010.

Five criteria, including the opinions of neighbors, personal finances and professional ethics, will be evaluated.

"We will also initiate some investigations to make sure officials are not involved in any illegal underground lending practices, which are quite rampant among officials in Zhejiang province," Chen added.

The move has ignited heated debate among local officials, as well as the country's netizens, with some arguing the assessment of off-work activities infringes on the officials' privacy and disturbs their personal lives.

However, Chen said the authorities will abide by the current laws and regulations in handling the officials' private information.

"The new criteria will improve the transparency of the evaluation system among government officials, but the extent of the examination needs to be appropriate to protect the privacy of officials," said Liu Xiaobing, a professor at the school of public economics and administration under Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.

Local residents in Fuyang generally welcomed the move.

"When I saw the news online, I was quite impressed by the new criteria. I think it will definitely help citizens see the real life of officials and whether they're leading a corrupt life," said Li Wenquan, a local resident.

Li suggested that maybe local residents could also participate in the assessment process.