Jiangsu to revoke redundant government bodies following controversy

Authorities in Xuzhou, Jiangsu province have pledged to revoke redundant government bodies and to strengthen controls on creating new ones, according to a statement released on Saturday.

The move will primarily target temporary bodies that were established for coordination purposes.

This comes after uproar over the number of positions held by Xuzhou deputy mayor, Wang Jianfeng.

A screenshot of a circular issued by local government in October showed that the 52-year-old holds titles on up to 46 government bodies, scattered across a range of areas including taxation, food safety, and the reform of State-owned enterprises.

While some netizens expressed doubt of Wang's ability to handle so many affairs, others asked if Wang receives paychecks for each of the positions.

In response, Xuzhou government said on its official Sina Weibo account that many of the positions are temporary and will be revoked when their allotted time expires. No separate agencies were created, and no extra paychecks will accrue, it said.

By naming people in charge of the provisional bodies – many are interdepartmental and for coordinating purposes – the government aims to improve efficiency and speed up progress, it said.