One-quarter of govt meetings canceled

China's government departments have canceled 586,000 unnecessary meetings amid the "mass-line" campaign that aims to improve work style and get close to the people, Xinhua News Agency reported.

The canceled meetings account for about a quarter of the 2.38 million conferences held annually by government departments, Xinhua reported on Tuesday.

If each meeting lasts about half an hour, it would take more than 33 years to finish the meetings that have been canceled.