DIAGNOSIS IN QUEUE: The outpatient clinic of Zhongshan Hospital in Shanghai almost reaches its capacity after a spike in heat-sickened people in mid-July (PEI XIN)

People's Justice

In March, villagers in Lufeng, Guangdong Province, offered a 1-million-yuan ($146,000) reward to honest officials prepared to expose and eliminate corrupt local village officials. Soon afterward, a 5-million-yuan ($732,000) reward was advertised for anyone who could rid Dongnan Village in Changle County, Shandong Province, of corrupt officials.

It was also reported that after nine years of fruitless petitioning, villagers in Dongnan posted their appeals on the Internet, looking to punish village officials who embezzled collective property worth more than 50 million yuan ($7.3 million).

Such efforts have proven surprisingly effective in drawing public attention and exposing corruption.

At the same time, the fact that nine years of accusations have produced no convincing results in Dongnan is an embarrassment for our legal system.

In fact, the legal system is relatively thorough, but some officials are so ignorant of the law that it greatly weakens the implementation and effectiveness of laws. In these cases, people have no choice but to take the law into their own hands. We should improve the current official accountability system to make the law truly effective.

Guangzhou Daily

Ineffective Spokesperson

Recently, the Administration for Industry and Commerce in southern Guangdong Province introduced a cyber spokesperson.

Some government agencies and officials used to turn a deaf ear to online complaints. With these voices growing stronger, more and more departments have begun to engage public concerns via the Internet, giving birth to "cyber spokespersons."

Such changes indicate that an increasing number of officials have realized the importance of the Internet in conveying public opinions. As a result, they are turning to online forums and communicating with the public, at the same time making themselves accountable to the vast number of netizens. This is, to some extent, satisfying people's aspirations to know, participate in and supervise public affairs.

But the cyber spokesperson of the Administration for Industry and Commerce of Guangdong Province is not worthy of its name. Instead of interacting with netizens or freely disclosing information, the so-called spokesman only chooses those inquiries it thinks it is important to reply. Such a working style means the so-called cyber spokesperson can sidestep important issues at will. These defects will prevent the so-called cyber spokesperson from fully performing its expected role, which is to help netizens learn about the functions and operations of the administration.

Wuhan Evening News

Health Service for All

The Ministry of Health recently issued a notice requiring all Class-A hospitals in China to provide appointment-scheduling services beginning in October. These hospitals are also barred from randomly raising service charges or commissioning intermediaries to handle these services.

However, the effective provision of appointment-scheduling services relies on various factors. First, the service needs a set of operational standards and procedures. Second, the charges for the services must be reasonable and transparent. Third, patients with appointments must be guaranteed to receive quality medical services.

Some hospitals in Beijing and Zhejiang Province began to experiment with appointment-scheduling services years ago. But their efforts failed to achieve expected results due to ill-devised regulations.

For a long time, expensive medical bills and decent access to quality medical services have been a major concern in the country. If appointment-scheduling services can be put into practice, they're expected to help improve public health services.

China Youth Daily

More Haste, Less Speed

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, reportedly has postponed its third hearing on the draft Social Security Law, previously scheduled for this month, to next year because the public differs over the system of pension insurance.

In recent years, governments in different regions have carried out a variety of social security programs. But different standards make it difficult to put any one of them into practice nationwide.

Hence, it is necessary to enact a law governing the work in this regard.

Legislation should never be divorced from national conditions. It should strike a balance between interests of all social groups and embody social justice and equality. That is the premise of a good piece of legislation.

As far as the draft Social Security Law is concerned, both the proposed legal framework and guarantee level of the pension insurance have become sources of debate. For example, the draft law is blamed for granting too much power to the government, as well as stipulating different treatment for employees of enterprises, public service units and government departments who participate in social insurance.

The aims of legislation cannot be realized if it has serious defects. Furthermore, any deficiency in the social security system will harm social justice and eventually harm the interests of the country and its people. From this point of view, it is wise to temporarily postpone the review of the draft Social Insurance Law until all concerned parties reach consensus on it.

Yanzhao Metropolis Daily