Government departments nationwide spent far less going abroad the first half of this year, following strict penny-pinching requirements from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Compared with the average of the past three years, the number of groups going abroad the first half of 2009 decreased by 55 percent, and the number of travelers decreased by 53 percent, according to a report.

Central departments spent 597 million yuan ($87.4 million) less on going abroad, buying and using cars, and business receptions. Local governments reduced expenses by 15.2 billion yuan, according to the report.

He Guoqiang, secretary of discipline committee of the CPC Central Committee, said watching expenses and forbidding travel abroad on the public dime is important in the face of the world economic crisis, and will improve transparency and strengthen the work of party members.

"We have seen the first results of clean and honest politics and we should persist in achieving more," He said.

In southern Guangdong province from January to August, the number of government staff who went abroad for business decreased by 60 percent compared with last year. The number of cars bought by government departments in the province decreased by 90 percent, according to the discipline committee of the Guangdong provincial government.

Jiang Bin, a member of the committee, urged every department to practice the reporting system for business trips. Government departments should set up a specific office to keep staff's passports and related certificates, and staff would not be allowed to go abroad without permission.

Jiang also said each department should strengthen its management during the eight-day national holiday beginning Oct 1. Nobody should use public money to give gifts or hold feasts, and no one is allowed to take bribes as gifts.

In Jiangsu province in the first half of this year, 1,760 groups and 4,020 government officials went abroad for business trips. The number declined almost 50 percent compared with the average of the past three years.

According to the requirements of the central committee of the CPC, government expenses on business trips abroad this year should decrease by 20 percent compared with the average of the last three years.

"We should carry out more effective measures to ensure we realize these targets," He said.

Yet experts worry these achievements are a temporary reaction to the requirements of the central committee.

"The fundamental way is to strengthen supervision on officials and to improve the transparency of their official lives," said Ren Jianming, a professor of public administration from Tsinghua University.

Ren suggested that government should make officials' trips abroad more open to the public, including the schedules, the necessity of the trips and what they learn from the trips.

(China Daily September 18, 2009)