Disciplinary inspection and supervision work should be strengthened to ensure the integrity of government officials and fair administration in line with laws and regulations, said Wu Guanzheng, China's disciplinary chief.

Wu, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, made the remark during his inspection tour in east China's Fujian Province from August 13 to 17.

Wu said that government departments should release official information that common people were concerned with timely and comprehensively. Work units offering public services, such as schools, hospitals and power, gas and bus companies, should set up a similar mechanism to publish public-related records.

He urged local officials to give faster responses to complaints, which he considered not only good supervision, but also the best way to win people's trust and support of government work.

He highlighted the crackdown on power abuse and corruption by government officials as a major task of local disciplinary inspection and supervision departments.

Officials who cause great loss to people's security and property due to their dereliction of duty will be given more severe disciplinary penalties and will be prosecuted, Wu said.

(Xinhua News Agency August 18, 2004)