Xu Jin, deputy mayor of Yibin, Sichuan province, recently claimed that he had visited more than 60 countries. Netizens now want to know whether he did so on public money or at his own expense - and if he used public funds, he should explain the purpose of those travels and what the public gained from them, says an article in Nanfang Daily. Excerpts:

There should be no problem if Xu Jin visited more than 60 countries on work. But his sudden "revelation" has disturbed people, because some officials are known to use huge amounts of public money on official receptions, vehicles and overseas trips.

Traveling abroad on public funds is not necessarily bad. What is important is whether the visits are worth the money.

Xu has said that the visits have been of "utmost importance" because they have taught him how to "lay out plans for urban development". Though we get little information from the news, Xu should have gathered more knowledge than that. It is only that he wants to emphasize the above point, which does not deserve the level of criticism it has invited. But he should come up with a better explanation to allay public doubt.

It is a pity that the media outlet that reported the news deleted a quote from him, maybe out of fear that it would invite more public criticism.

It's true that many officials often say astounding things. But netizens should stop magnifying and misinterpreting every word they speak.

Social supervision will not be effective if society is interested only in nit-picking. On the other hand, officials should be more careful with their public utterances.

China Daily

(China Daily 08/05/2011 page9)