Govts go high-tech to make spending more transparent

NANJING/HANGZHOU - Public spending in 2,187 villages in Shaoxing city, East China's Zhejiang province, now not only requires the approval of higher authorities and invoices for auditing purposes, but also the submission of documents online.

All original bills, trade contracts and any items related to rural collective resources - namely collectively owned funds, assets and resources in rural areas - must be published online, according to the city's new policies.

The move is designed to facilitate auditing and verification by watchdogs and, more importantly, to make the details of spending more open to public scrutiny.