(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-01-04 07:45

The government should respect the public's views in a more transparent manner, says an article in Beijing News. The following is an excerpt:

On January 2, the Beijing Youth Daily disclosed the whole process of adding Tiantongyuan station to subway Line 5. Residents in Tiantongyuan, a densely-populated residential community in Beijing, finally had their wish come true.

At the beginning, talks about adding this station only appeared sporadically on website forums. Later, these opinions were collected and sent to the government bodies concerned. A signature movement followed and attracted more than 10,000 residents.

For the government, it was a surprise to receive so many letters and phone enquiries. Then relevant departments started an investigation, and finally decided to add the station. We can see that the whole process was a smooth interaction between the government and the public and a win-win situation had been achieved.

The addition of Tiantongyuan station is undoubtedly a wise decision. Despite the cost - 70 million yuan ($9.3 million) - the station is now the busiest among the 23 stations on Line 5. Respecting the opinions of residents is also a feather in the cap for the government.

But the process took a long time as the government bodies concerned did not communicate in a timely manner with the public, and publicize progress on the matter. This led to worries and suspicious about what the government's next step would be.

Although the government ultimately respected the public in terms of the result, respect was absent in the process.

There have been many such cases. The public keeps expressing their views to the government, but do not get an immediate response, leaving them in doubt.

The public's views should be respected in a clear manner, which means there should be a regulated system that removes uncertainty.

(China Daily 01/04/2008 page8)