Officials held accountable for inappropriate words

Officials who give answers that trigger adverse social impacts will be held accountable for their words and behavior, according to a new regulation issued in Shanghai's Pudong New Area.

The regulation requires senior officials to be professional when speaking in public and those who give inappropriately answers that are inconsistent with their official positions will be deemed to have failed to fulfill their job duties.

Bureau directors and heads at district, county and village-level are subject to this regulation. The regulation was inspired by the growing awareness of people of public affairs, which has placed higher demands on officials to avoid awkwardness, said Qiu Mingzhong, director of the case review office in the supervision bureau of Pudong.

The bureau of land and resources of Langzhong city, Sichuan province, gave the answer, "Maybe we won't still be alive in 40 years so don't think that far" when citizens questioned why owners of house for sale in the city only hold the property rights for 40 years, the official website of People's Daily reported on Aug 11.