BEIJING - After months of hearing officials promise to handle the situation, Chen (who asked to have his full name withheld) called the city's "virtue hotline" to report black taxis operating rampantly in his community in the southwest China city of Chengdu.

Chen's report was carefully recorded by Yang Peng, a staff member with the hotline, and, just one week later, Chen was unable to find any unlicensed cabs in the community.

"That was a big surprise to me," he said. "I did nothing but make a phone call."

The half-governmental hotline was jointly set up in August 2011 by the city's office in charge of morality construction and the Chengdu TV station. As of March 4, citizens had made more than 62,000 calls to report problems in the city or offer suggestions.

These problems or proposals fall into 12 categories, including "noise pollution," "traffic problem," "non-licensed construction" and "others."

More than 60 government organs, such as public security departments, signed collaboration agreements with the hotline to immediately learn about, and solve, problems reported by the public.

Over 70 percent of the problems have been settled in the past six months, Huang Zao, director of the Chengdu TV hotline department, said, adding that the TV station has opened a column to expose government organs that fail to solve problems widely resented by citizens.

"A hotline is a bridge connecting the people and the government," said Wang Wei, a professor with the National Academy of Governance. "Using the hotline as a public service reflects the local government's attempts and courage in innovating the governance mode and transforming governmental functions."

On the opening day of the parliamentary meeting on March 5, Premier Wen Jiabao said in his government report that the government would improve  public services and "further transform government functions" as a key factor in China's deepening reform.

China has made great efforts in this direction, and its awareness of letting people participate more in political decision- and policy-making has constantly grown.

In the eastern city of Hangzhou, local authorities adopted a manner of "public decision-making," inviting people from grassroots communities to join in government executive meetings and uploading videos of the meetings online to allow netizens a part in the decision-making process.

Hotlines similar to the one in Chengdu have also been set up in cities such as Hangzhou, Beijing and Ningbo, among others.

Chengdu's hotline has proven effective and is worth being promoted nationwide, said Ban Miaoqi, vice president of Beijing-based Horizon Polling Group.

He said media, volunteers and people from other sectors have mostly taken charge of the hotline. And the hotline serves as a middleman as well as a supervisor.

However, compared with fast social and economic development and people's lofty expectations for the government, these efforts are still lacking. The government's awareness of innovation and service must be further strengthened, according to Wang Wei.

Take the hotline for example, said Wang, many problems are still up in the air, and the service can not be available around the clock.

"No matter how different the operating modes are, the goal is just the same: the people vent their complaints and their problems get solved," Wang noted.

Premier Wen said in the government report that the relationship between the government and the people should be straightened out, and the government should strive to build itself into one of service and responsibility.

"That will be an eternal subject for any term of government," Professor Wang said.