Xu Qin, mayor of Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, said at a press conference of the Shenzhen Municipal People's Congress that he agrees with the views of the mayors of Guangzhou and Foshan, in that the details of officials' property should be disclosed. "Once a notice is given, I will disclose my property."  An increasing number of officials have made such statements, which have been welcomed by the public. The country is facing growing pressure to issue such a "notice."

Making public the details of officials' property meets the trend of the times.  The government cannot evade the issue for much longer. 

Officials should be sincere in their attitude to publishing property details. This attitude should not only be publicly expressed, but should also gain the trust of society through practical actions. Only in this way can consensus be reached, and we can then carry out the technical discussion on how officials and the public can join together to participate in promoting the move. 

Disclosing details of officials' property is not a simple issue. Many people in China at every level of society are unaware of what disclosing property details means. There are also many differences in the specific approaches and effects of the measure worldwide. 

In Asia, both the Philippines and India implement a disclosure system for civil servants' property. However, corruption is rampant in both countries, especially the Philippines.

But this doesn't mean that publishing details of officials' property is useless or unnecessary. It is a prerequisite for honest government.

The key question is this: To what extent should officials disclose their property and who should they disclose it to? The question requires serious discussion in order to achieve a social consensus. However, there must be a precondition that society believes the government is serious about promoting a system to implement the measure, and not just creating more obstacles to the discussions.

Corruption cannot be completely avoided in publishing officials' property. However, making these details public is one of the methods that will curb corruption. It should be promoted firmly and pragmatically.

Officials should step up research to officially respond to public demands. Due to the weak credibility of governments, we have to pay the price in various fields. Therefore, when it comes to issues related to publishing property details, officials should fully assess the problems and communicate with the public patiently.

Gradual implementation of the measure may be the only solution. In fact, the public does not really expect it to be accomplished overnight, but is just eager to see some practical action. Society wants to see a road map and real measures.