Releasing the telephone numbers of deputies to the People's Congress in Kunming has opened the door for citizens to voice their opinions and supervise the administration, says a signed article in Beijing Youth Daily. The following is an excerpt.

Having made public the office telephone numbers of government department leaders, Kunming has recently publicized information about 438 deputies to the municipal People's Congress, including their names, working units, titles and telephone numbers. This move will make these deputies better channels between the Party and the masses, so the masses can voice their opinions.

Kunming has made further progress on the road to government transparency and the participation of citizens in providing checks and balances on the powers of officials. It is fair to say that publicizing the telephone numbers of deputies is more significant than just publicizing the numbers of government officials.

This is because, in terms of the power structure, deputies are directly responsible to the electorate while the government departments are responsible to the People's Congress. In this sense, the most effective way of checking government departments is not dialing the telephone numbers of government officials, but dialing instead those of the deputies.

The release of telephone numbers has mapped out a clear channel for citizens to exercise their rights in an orderly manner.

They can seek help from government officials if they have problems; they can also conveniently turn to deputies for help if the government departments do not offer a satisfactory solution.

It's a complete chain of checks and balances through deputies to the People's Congress. Administrative power is in the hands of every voter.

Moreover, releasing the telephone numbers is like a controlling device that forces government officials and deputies to work more diligently, under the close watch of both the media and the public.

A good atmosphere has been cultivated where government officials and deputies will work under public scrutiny, while the public also forms a good habit of monitoring how power is used.

(China Daily March 1, 2008)