Complaints jam Jiangxi governor's mobile phones

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-08-06 22:32

However, controversy remained on whether calling the governor was a proper solution to address public grievances.

A netizen named Woshiqinge wrote on a sohu.com forum on Sunday, saying "the Jiangxi government's act was just another image show".

The phone number issue signified the facts that local government and its operation mechanism failed to obtain credibility from the public; people had to turn to governors instead of a poorly-trusted system, according to a commentary in the Beijing-based newspaper Legal Daily on Tuesday.

The positive attitudes towards the measure said that "it would pose pressure on those related departments and persons who might do wrong in the process," a commentary on Ifeng.com said on Monday.

Also, the move showed a dedicated and serious attitude of local leaders to establish a more transparent and open government, it added.

To test the service personally, a Xinhua reporter got through to the busy line after repeated attempts on Monday, the third day the line was open. The operator, however, refused to answer questions, expressing an attitude of exhaustion, saying "the line was set up for hearing and taking notes of people's complaints only."

While it's natural for people to get tired after fielding many phone calls, an effective system would not get exhausted. What people needed most might be a more practical and highly-efficiency government rather than a governor's cordial attitude, in terms of solving livelihood problems, the Legal Daily commented on Tuesday.

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