China's local governments lay down rules to punish laidback officials

Local governments are laying down the rules to punish officials seen as slacking on their jobs, a trend observed since the corruption crackdown began.

The move - which has seen governments roll out trial regulations to define and punish slack officials - follows Premier Li Keqiang's criticism of lazy officials during the annual parliamentary sessions in March.

The official People's Daily reported that these rules defined slackness in three categories: inaction, passiveness, or launching ill-conceived measures.

Failing to implement a superior government's policies, delays in protecting citizens' rights, evading responsibilities for fear of offending other officials, and pressing ahead with white-elephant projects are among the definitions of slackness.

Foshan in Guangdong province was among the first cities to announce last month the seven criteria that identify a slack official. The city's party committee said it would issue three levels of written warnings and even fire or demote officials.

Liaoning, Hubei, Hunan and Guizhou have also issued similar rules.

Li has called laziness the "new corruption", along with other undesirable work styles such as formalism, bureaucratism, hedonism and extravagance.

In one case, it took 18 months for Anshan authorities in Liaoning to approve a 192 million yuan (HK$243 million) project launched by a foreign firm.

In another, a transport official in Gujiao, Shanxi, was suspended after a video of him spouting vulgarities went viral online.

The official, Ren Changchun, was seen in the clip saying "the regulations initiated by the central authorities are nothing and I will not implement them".

The department has confirmed the video's authenticity.