Easier access to gov't regulations
By Liu Li (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-04-15 00:08

Copies of regulations issued by the Beijing municipal government are now available at more than 800 spots across the city.

Among the total 811 spots where copies of the regulations are freely available, 362 were established by district and county governments, said Zhou Jidong, director of the Legal Affairs Office of the Beijing municipal government, which is responsible for drafting local governmental regulations.District and county governments covered 119 and the other 243 were set up by subdistrict offices at urban and rural residential areas, according to government statistics.

Meanwhile, departments directly under the Beijing municipal government set up 450 free spots.

Residents can get free copies of local regulations on social security, medical insurance, housing, family planning and other issues closely related with residents' lives.

English versions of regulations on labour and social security are also available at the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Labour and Social Security, Ling Peili, an official with the Legal Affairs Office of the Beijing municipal government said Wednesday.

In Beijing's Chaoyang District, regular governmental reports are also translated into English and placed in the investment service hall of the district.

"Most copies of regulations are in the service halls of the 22 subdistrict offices," said Zhang Xiumei, an official with the Chaoyang District Legal Affairs Office.

Zhang said the documents will be updated every three months with newly-adopted rules.

Zhang vowed to set up more spots in residential areas to make it more convenient for residents to fetch the copies.

"Currently, only in government offices and its dispatched organizations can people get copies of the regulations," she said.

Beijing began to take the measure last April to give residents easier access to information about their obligations and duties. The move is part of an attempt to meet the requirements of the World Trade Organization.

"I am a taxpayer. I need to supervise the government over whether their actions are legal. The free regulation copies help me do this," Gao Ting, a 28-year-old Beijing resident, said Wednesday.

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