China tightens govt-funded overseas trips

Chinese provincial governments have tightened the rules on officials' overseas trips paid for by the public in line with a nationwide austerity and anti-corruption drive.

East China's Jiangxi, Shandong, Jiangsu, Fujian provinces and southwest China's Sichuan province have included the expenses of government-funded overseas trips into their budgets. Schedules and outcomes of trips are strictly scrutinized, and some visits at the public's expense have even been called off.

The new regulations are the latest in a series of moves the central government has taken to tackle bureaucratic and extravagant work styles among government workers, said Guo Guanhua, an official of Jiangxi provincial government's finance department.

RIGOROUS REGULATIONS

Officials from government departments, institutions and state-owned enterprises who go on visits have to specify the number of trips, schedules and allowances, according to the regulations.

"It is more rigorous. Government-funded overseas tours should comprise no more than six members and stay in one country fewer than six days," Guo said.

Officials should not add extra countries to their itinerary, alter the duration of a trip, or spend public money on receptions without approval, the regulations said.

The outcomes of overseas business trips including cooperation agreements, relevant texts and photographs should be displayed publicly for supervision.

"Officials are required to disclose their visiting places, the duration and tasks on bulletin boards of departments or institutions after they return from foreign countries," Guo said.

Information on government-funded overseas trips will be published on official websites and other platforms for public supervision very soon, he said.

Official overseas trips have long been a hidden welfare for government departments, state-owned enterprises and institutions and a subject of public criticism.

Xu Wen'ai, former deputy chief prosecutor of the People's Procuratorate in Anhui province, led a delegation of ten officials to Finland with a counterfeit invitation letter in 2006. They were stopped at Helsinki Airport and repatriated to China. Xu was removed from his post.

Last year, You Guangfu, party secretary and chairman of a state-owned enterprise in the provincial capital city Chengdu of Sichuan province, took an overseas trip using public money. He violated rules by adding visiting cities for sightseeing. You and those involved were punished by discipline inspection agencies.