LIVE BROADCAST: Officials in Chenzhou, central China's Hunan Province, appear on a TV program discussing local transportation development on August 23 (CFP)

A live question-and-answer television show featuring dialogue between local officials and residents has thrust the city of Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, into the national spotlight.

From June 26 to July 4, vice mayors and various district and bureau heads sat onstage to face public scrutiny on a series of primetime Wuhan Television Station programs centered around the theme of "holding officials accountable for poor duty performance."

The segments aimed at solving 10 of the city's most pressing problems—those the government had already promised to solve. These issues ranged from city development and low-income housing to traffic and the environment. This no-holds-barred approach to governance and TV ratings has gained favor with audiences.

Reporters secretly collected footage filmed by residents concerned with civic dysfunction. "Officials had no idea in advance of what was going to come up," said producer He Zhiqiang.

Fast response

On the June 28 program, an elderly resident surnamed Lu revealed heaps of waste from construction sites nearby his home. "The waste is right outside the community causing dust to accumulate," said Lu, who had no idea which government department he should turn to for help or how long it would take to clean up.

An official of the Wuhan Municipal Urban Management Bureau promised on live TV to clean up the site in one week. Indeed, Lu saw a group of workers show up the next day and the mess was gone within seven days.

"They acted so quickly. It was beyond my expectations," said Lu, who reappeared for the July 3 show.

Footage airing during the June 26 segment shows a tableware-washing facility provided restaurants with dirty products. Yang Zefa, head of the Wuhan Municipal Food and Drug Administration who appeared in the show, called an emergency meeting to deal with the problem and another on July 8 to decide appropriate punishments.

Producers employed other tricks besides candid camerawork. In the show held on July 2, Gao Danyan, head of the Wuhan Administration for Industry and Commerce, received an empty letter from the presenter, as previously broadcast footage shows officials from his bureau asking envelopes filled with money or bribes from business owners.

"Some officials said that before stepping on to the stage they were terrified about going on the show and didn't want to come," said Huang Hongyun, a researcher with the Wuhan Academy of Social Sciences and a commentator for the live show.

"For me, this show is like an exam," said Liu Ziqing, head of Dongxihu District, who admitted he was very nervous before his appearance. "Some officials never stopped sweating during the live show."

"They really performed like a pupil facing a strict teacher. That is really good progress. It makes the officials understand their responsibilities," Huang said, adding that the program fulfilled the changes desired by the public, as its voice was heard.

"The questions should make the officials sweat while answering, and the sharp and pungent style will force them to change the way they go about their work," said Ruan Chengfa, Secretary of the Wuhan Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China.

Ruan also revealed that it is the political task for the officials to attend the show. "The local government has very harsh rules regarding this," Ruan said. "Officials cannot ask for leave or go on business trips during the broadcast days."

Apart from asking officials face to face, residents can also participate through phone calls and online means. "The comments online are even sharper," Ruan said.