China’s Communist Party paper slams officials for ‘reality show’ approach to fact-finding mission

Officials focused on form over substance leaving cadres ‘physically and mentally exhausted’, party mouthpiece says in social media post

Party’s criticism of ‘phone it in’ attitude shows keenness to break ‘echo chamber’, but a stunted media makes the quest difficult, one observer says

3-MIN READ3-MIN

Beijing is keen to get a clearer sense of grass-roots grievances as the workforce ages and the economy falters. Photo: AP

Published: 8:54pm, 17 Aug 2023Updated: 9:54pm, 17 Aug 2023

Senior Chinese officials have been staging “reality shows” by going through the motions in getting public feedback as part of a nationwide “fact-finding campaign”, the ruling Communist Party said in a scathing report on a People’s Daily-linked online account.

The detailed post, published on Wednesday on Xia Ke Dao, an official social media account of People’s Daily, criticised the “formalism” displayed by officers involved in the fact-finding drive.

Some of the field trips meant to assess conditions on the ground had been orchestrated like “reality shows”, it said in a follow-up to a People’s Daily report on Monday.

China launched the fact-finding mission in March to seek public feedback and suggestions on policy goals.

Beijing is keen to get a clearer sense of grass-roots grievances as the workforce ages and the economy falters amid a US-led containment drive, with officials urged to carry out field work instead of “sitting in the office”.