'It's a joke!': Chinese premier mounts another attack on 'ridiculous' red tape

Premier Li Keqiang has again gone on the warpath against "ridiculous" red tape, saying it was a joke that in one case a holidaymaker was told to prove his mother was his mother just to name her as an emergency contact on a travel form.

Li's comments were released on a government website on Wednesday after he chaired a regular State Council meeting on ways to streamline administration, delegate power and cut administrative licensing and approvals.

During the meeting, Li offered three anecdotes to show how bureaucracy was making life harder for the public.

"I read a media report where a person put his mother's name down as an emergency contact on a travel form. But some department requested he provide materials proving his mother was really his mother," Li said.

"How can anybody provide such proof? It's a huge joke! He wants to go on holiday and this is what happens?

"Are they deliberately setting up obstacles?""

Li cited another case of a grass-roots worker in Hainan province who wanted to apply for a national model worker award.