Eight-point code cuts red tape, weeds out corruption

Huang Dairong, a grassroots worker from Chongqing's Qianjiang district, used to spend most of her time in the office collecting data, filling out forms and researching material. Being able to visit a residential area to address people's difficulties face-to-face was a rare occurrence.

"I was often interrupted by frequent requests for data from various departments. One time, shortly after a local women's federation had collected data, the cultural department came asking for it, which cost me half a day looking at repetitive statistics and filling out forms," she said.

Thanks to a new "one-form" system, Huang now has more time to visit communities, interact with residents, and address their problems in person.

The intelligent platform system was launched by the Chongqing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China in March 2024. It consolidates data from various departments, standardizes it, and updates it in real-time, enabling seamless information sharing across different levels of government, from municipal agencies to districts and villages.

Data on topics such as Party building, economic growth, the rule of law, and people's livelihoods in a district or village is clear and easy to find. System users can also generate forms or reports automatically if needed, which has significantly boosted work efficiency.

This initiative has helped reduce time spent on tasks such as data collection and filling out forms by grassroots workers like Huang. It is also playing a vital role in the implementation of the guiding principles of the central Party leadership's eight-point code to improve work conduct and combat formalism, said Li Jianshu, an official from the municipal committee responsible for the system's operation.

The number of grassroots forms, the time spent processing them, and the number of staff members involved in the work, have all been reduced by 70 percent compared with the same period in 2023, Li said.