Proliferation of work chat groups like too many cooks

Editor's note: The Hefeng county government, Hubei province, has instructed all of its departments to reduce the number of their work-related discussion groups on social media. According to the new rule, departments can only have three work-related discussion groups at most, one for the department's leadership, one for the department's daily routine work and one for local poverty alleviation projects. More than 400 discussion groups used by civil servants in the county have been closed since the rule took effect this year. China Daily reporter Li Yang comments:

The reform initiated by the Hefeng government is probably the first of its kind among governments of various levels. It may seem trivial, but for the grassroots civil servants - who are in most cases the executors of most government policies, strategies and plans - it represents a big and positive change to their work and daily life.

On the one hand, the advancement of information technology has made the communication among community-level and township civil servants more convenient. On the other hand, too many work-related discussion groups have been established even in small departments, often for each specific task, which has undoubtedly become a headache for many civil servants.