Office closure plan worries some

• Source: Global Times
• [01:52 January 26 2010]
• Comments

Some liaison office workers denied any corrupt practices.

"We have been set up to attract investments and talents for the county, not to engage in any politics. I don't think we should be closed," a worker surnamed Liu from Jinxiang county, Shandong Province told the Global Times.

Tu Sixin, director of the liaison office of Hetian district, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region said that his office also served ordinary people, who left their hometown for Beijing, including those who come to Beijing to seek medical treatment.

"Besides, we also promote the locally-made products like Chinese dates and find market opportunities, which please farmers," Tu said.

Some people worried that the plan may not be carried out.

"The offices will be hard to close," Yu Zongshan, a taxi driver in Beijing, told the Global Times, noting that officials will try to keep offices in the capital since they serve as the ears and eyes for local officials.

Zhang Shuyi, an administration law professor at China University of Political Science and Law, agreed.

"The order is hardly to achieve its purpose. Even the offices are closed, they will reappear in other forms under other names," Zhang said.