Shanxi Province’s governor recently plead with his colleagues to do a better job in managing crises after punishments were handed down in the brick kiln slavery debacle. Selected passages translated from Nanfang Group, via sina.com:
Shanxi penalized 95 local officials for failure in crisis mismanagement, or lack of speedy action, in the aftermath of the exposure of forced labor in illegal brick kilns– probably one of largest scale punishments of officials in the country’s history. During a meeting when 11 new regulations were issued to step up accountability for local officials, Shanxi governor Yu Youjun (‰∫éÂπºÂÜõ) bowed to his fellow colleagues to urge them to provide better public service and social management for rural areas.
On the table are proposals to set up rescue and aid stations in remote areas, expanding a proactive service network instead of relying passive reaction, especially when it comes to mentally retarded or minor vagabonds.
Yu also criticized his propaganda officials for “guarding against” reporters. He admitted there were problems in Shanxi and said it should be OK to disclose those problems and criticize them. He advised his colleagues to guide, or help, reporters in their work, and also to help reporters get a fuller picture of the story, including what the government has been doing to solve problems.
He also urged his colleagues to pay more attention to the Internet and do a better job in reacting to and handling crises. Yu made phone calls to over a dozen provincial and municipal officials to check whether they went online to stay current with the latest news. Nobody did, he learned. He said officials needed to pay great attention to the public opinion over the Internet. [Full Text in Chinese]
