(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-02-28 08:08

KUNMING -- Contact details of southwest China congress members were published on Wednesday in an ongoing campaign to make officials more open to the public and to strengthen supervision.

A list of names, posts and office phone numbers of 438 deputies to the Kunming city congress was carried on Wednesday's Kunming Daily, the official newspaper in the capital of Yunnan Province.

The head of the Standing Committee of Kunming People's Congress was on the list, but it did not include those in the armed forces.

Making the contact details public was intended to cement ties between deputies and the people, and better reflect public opinion and interests, the newspaper said.

"The deputies agreed to have their contacts published," said the spokesman of the Standing Committee.

"They are required to answer phone calls from the public, keep records, and give explanations or suggestions to callers in accordance to the law."

"Being a deputy is a responsibility more than an honor," said Yang Ming from Guandu District. "Making the contacts public helps me better exercise power for the people."

According to China's constitution, local people's congress at different levels are local organs of state power, and the term of office of the congresses is three to five years.

The publication of Kunming officials' contact details and job information 10 days ago fueled discussion about how they could be more pro-active in dealing with public scrutiny.

Making the contacts public was intended "to subject officials to public supervision, and form a consensus and a mechanism in which each and every official will work to boost the city's 'soft environment'", said Qiu He, the city's Party secretary and member of the standing committee of the Party's provincial committee.

Related: Yunnan publishes local govt, Party directory