Chapter 436 International Friends 12

1.

Under the warm greeting of Song Chunshan, Secretary of the Party Committee of Hushan Town, members of the delegation of Yokohama University in Japan and leaders at all levels who accompanied the delegation got off the bus one after another and gathered at the entrance of the luxuriously decorated store of the "Haitian Hotel".

Just as officials at all levels were chatting and laughing and preparing to step into the hotel, an unexpected scene occurred. The two elderly people who led the delegation from Yokohama University in Japan refused to enter the hotel, and explained through an interpreter that they had mineral water and bread with them, and that they could completely solve their lunch on their own and could not cause unnecessary waste.

Several officials who accompanied him hurriedly stepped forward to persuade him, and explained that this was a normal "official reception" and that it was the "official reception fee" of the government department, not a private banquet, and that the Japanese friends should not be polite, and that the Toyama town government should be given a chance to express their gratitude and let them do their best to be a landlord, and so on.

The government official's explanation made the two old Japanese men a little dumbfounded, and they asked a few questions one after another why? And told the officials through an interpreter that the phenomenon of "reception at public expense" rarely occurs in Japan now, and the Japanese government and officials do not have a special "official reception fee." The president of the Yokohama University Charity Foundation also solemnly told the Chinese officials next to him in stiff Chinese that in Japan, "not a penny of public funds can be spent indiscriminately, and public power cannot be used for the people." ”

The words of this president made Haru feel a strong shock in his heart, and our government officials have always been called "servants of the people", literally "servants of the people" are servants and servants of the people who receive state salaries, and they serve the people, and the common people should be their masters, owners, bosses, customers, and gods. But what about now? The phenomenon of "difficult to enter, ugly face, and difficult to get things done" abound in government departments, and there are even a small number of leading cadres riding on the heads of the common people to exercise authority.

I don't know if the officials around the old man will feel ashamed and blush when they hear these words. However, Spring knew in his heart that there was still a long way to go in order to completely change the state of "re-enjoyment and inaction" of government officials, and that there was still a long way to go in reforming the government's system.

2.

Under the persuasion of many officials, the two old Japanese men accepted the enthusiasm of the Toyama town government without embarrassment, but they repeatedly proposed that the meals must be frugal and not extravagant and wasteful.

In fact, in the eighties and nineties of the last century, there was also a "grand occasion" of public money consumption in Japan. However, as Japan's economic bubble burst and around 1995, the media frequently exposed the problem of public spending, and local governments across Japan began to explore reforms, and some prefectures said that "in principle, official reception will be abolished."

Since about 1994, a system of private administrative observers has been established in various parts of Japan. The people spontaneously set up a "National Liaison Conference of Advocates for Civil Rights" (referred to as the Liaison Conference) to monitor the government's actions and check how taxpayers' money is spent, how many people are in each reception, what dishes are ordered, and how much money is spent.

Prior to this, local governments usually paid for overtime and meal allowances for civil servants when receiving central government agencies and other local government officials. When citizens request disclosure of the use of hospitality expenses, the local government refuses on the grounds that disclosure would interfere with daily administrative work.

After the establishment of the Liaison Council, member organizations were convened to submit requests for disclosure of administrative information to 47 prefectures across Japan. Under intense pressure from the citizens, the central government took the lead in introspection, and the autonomous province also issued a circular urging local governments to improve their systems in related areas. In 1996, the autonomous province issued a special decree stipulating that government officials in each prefecture must conserve government funds and take the same measures as the province to discipline their subordinates. It also stipulates that each banquet must go through three layers of review before the budget can be passed. At the end of the year, who is invited to eat and drink should be reported, not only to the parliament, but also to the citizens, who is invited, what to eat, what to drink, who attends to accompany him, what effect has been achieved, and so on. Subsequently, local governments such as Kochi, Miyagi, and Sendai announced the complete abolition of official reception, and in 1996, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government joined the ranks of abolishing official reception, thus setting off a nationwide wave of elimination of "official hospitality".

Nowadays, it is rare to see government officials feasting and drinking at public expense. Except for a few necessary ceremonial occasions, the vast majority of activities held by government agencies do not have banquets at public expense. Most of the participants in the event are eating canteens or eating out packages, etc., and even if there is a dinner party, it is basically out of pocket, and the payment method is mostly AA system.

Although it has not been long since Japan abolished the "reception at public expense," this work has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the Japanese people, won the support of the common people, and has also brought a cool breeze to the Japanese political arena. In China, however, we have a long way to go to stop these unhealthy practices of eating and drinking.