Li asks public to supervise government

BEIJING - Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said Sunday that he is willing to accept supervision from the society and media on clean governance.

If one takes public office, he or she should cut off any expectation for getting rich, Li told a press conference after the conclusion of the annual session of China's legislature.

"Pursuing government office and making money have been 'two separate lanes' since the ancient times," he said.

"Only by being upright one himself, can he then asks others to be upright," the new premier quoted a Chinese adage as saying.

"We are willing to accept supervision from the whole society and media," he said.

Li urged a battle against corruption, which he described as "incompatible to reputation of the government, like fire to water."

He said a sound mechanism will be established to ensure that officials dare not and are unable to practise corruption and those corrupt will be punished by the law.

"It is even more important to make sure power will be excised in an open and transparent fashion so that the people can supervise government effectively," he said.

The premier also promised to win trust from the people and bring benefits to them by practising frugality in government spending.

"Within my tenure, the government will not use public coffer to construct new offices, halls or guest houses for the government use," Li said.

He ensured that the number of government employees, spending on official hospitality, overseas trips for official purposes and purchases of official vehicles will be reduced.

The central government will set an example and governments at all levels must follow suit, he said.

"If the people are to live a good life, their government must be put on a tight budget," Li stressed.

He cited a recent report to show that the central fiscal revenues increased by only 1.6 percent from January to February.

"In the future," he said, "you might not see big growth of fiscal revenues in China."

The premier, however, said that spending on improvement of people's livelihood is a must for the government and will surely increase.

"We have to cut spending on government operations," he said.