General fiscal information 'meaningless’
The public has complained that the government information is too general and vague, as some departments have only published figures related to the "three public consumptions."
The State Council has made repeated injunctions against extravagancy and ordered government ministries to reveal their fiscal information in more detail -- especially about the "three public consumptions" -- since excessive government spending has exacerbated public concern about potential corruption and wasteful practices by officials.
Yet only the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the State Auditing Administration have disclosed specific information, a move garnering praise from the public.
The Chinese Academy of Sciences disclosed the number of its staff members in its report, making it easy to work out the per capita cost of overseas trips, cars and car maintenance, and official receptions.
The State Auditing Administration has published even more specific information on its 2010 expenditures, which employ per capita figures and per vehicle statistics.
For example, the administration's expenditures for overseas trips were 6.17 million yuan ($953,882) in 2010, spent on 69 delegations comprised of 368 people, while car purchases amounted 1.15 million yuan ($177,790), with maintenance costs averaging 54,100 yuan ($8,364) per vehicle for 206 cars. The administration spent 1.4 million yuan ($216,440) on reception expenditures, receiving 24 foreign delegations comprised of 139 people.
According to Ye Qing, deputy to the People's Congress, the general statistics published by most departments are meaningless, because only through accurate figures could the public distinguish which department was more prudent in spending money. He hoped that more departments would publish more detailed expenses.
Peak week for fiscal information
In April, the Ministry of Science and Technology was the first to publish its 2011 budget for addressing public concerns, on which the ministry plans to spend about 40.2 million yuan ($6.18 million).
But many departments published their statistics last weekend, a move Ye thinks was a clever tactic to attract less attention from the public than on a weekday.
Ye also revealed that this week might be a peak time for fiscal information disclosure, as another 71 departments are likely to release fiscal information.
Last month, the top legislature approved the final account of its 2010 central spending, and for the first time included a special section on the "three public consumptions."
