The Chinese beverage company Mixue Bingcheng store sign in Sanhe city, North China's Hebei Province, which had previously been changed to green, has now been restored to its original red color. Photo: People.com.cn

Three typical cases of addressing formalism were publicly reported by Chinese disciplinary authorities on Saturday, with Sanhe in North China's Hebei Province specifically named for introducing prohibitions such as banning red or blue background colors or lettering on storefront signs.

The city of Sanhe was found to have engaged in blind decision-making and rigid enforcement in urban management, harming public interests and increasing burdens on the grassroots, according to CCTV News, citing the report.

Since July 2024, certain officials in Sanhe, driven by a distorted sense of political achievement and bureaucratism, introduced guidelines without proper consultation, imposing impractical bans on red or blue backgrounds and lettering for storefront signs, except for international and domestic chain brands.

The city also frequently conducted meetings, inspections and performance rankings, thus increasing the burden of the grassroots, according to CCTV.

The city's urban management enforcement department applied a one-size-fits-all solution, changing the colors of more than 1,800 storefront signs, including those of domestic chains, harming the interests of the public and causing negative impacts, according to the report. The official in charge of the city's Party committee has been dismissed.

The report also reveals cases in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. In recent years, the housing and urban-rural development department of the region has deviated from actual needs while building its "Internet + E-government service" facility, installing 48 digital LCD and full-color screens covering a total area of 105.61 square meters. Among these, three screens, totaling 76.3 square meters and costing 2.28 million yuan ($320,465), were mainly used for receiving visitors and were generally kept turned off.

Also, six e-government service systems, including a 12-million-yuan talent management system and a water supply and drainage supervision system, were either abandoned after completion or failed to operate effectively, resulting in resource waste. 

The report also highlighted that in recent years, certain areas in East China's Shandong Province have seen repeated commencements of major projects during concentrated launches. In some counties and districts, a single project has been restarted up to three times, according to CCTV.

Global Times