Township officials list all spending

BEIJING - In the first case of what netizens are calling "naked government", township government officials in Sichuan province have posted online public expenditure in first two months of the year, including spending on receptions, cigarettes, wine and vehicle use.

Besides exposing the high level of expenditure, which often hold the potential for abuse of public assets, the official website of Baimiao town, Bazhong city, is also reporting breakdowns of town' budgets and officials' salaries.

In China, officials reportedly spent at least 120 billion yuan ($18 billion) in 2004 on private use of government vehicles, extravagant dining and wining, as well as frequent trips abroad - all charged on government accounts. Premier Wen Jiabao said in February that this kind of spending "should be and can be controlled" through transparency and democratic monitoring.