Shanghai to improve work style of offcials

Shanghai has issued a detailed plan to improve the work style of the Party and the government.

According to the plan, which includes 30 stipulations, government and Party leaders should spend no fewer than 60 days visiting grassroots areas and every Thursday was set as the day for inspections, the Oriental Morning Post reported on Wednesday.

There should be no welcome banners, no grand receptions, no floral arrangement or souvenirs during officials' inspections, according to the plan.

Meanwhile, meetings should be shortened, and would normally be no more than two hours. Official documents should be neat, and videoconferences are recommended if technology allows.

It is forbidden to elevate the dining and accommodation standards of meetings, or to hold meetings at resorts, according to the plan.

Officials' visits abroad should only be arranged when needed in terms of foreign affairs. Media organizations should not cover government meetings without concrete information, the plan said.

In December, the Party's ruling authority, the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, adopted a document setting out explicit requirements for how leaders should improve their work style. It has eight points, focusing on rejecting extravagance, reducing bureaucratic visits, meetings, and empty talk.