Lazy officials must be pushed to be assiduous

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang vowed to expose and hold accountable those who are indolent, sloppy, or remiss of their duties while delivering his annual government work report to the country's top legislature Thursday.[Special coverage]

The statement sends a clear signal to officials who are reluctant to fulfil their responsibilities properly: to serve the people wholeheartedly is not just a slogan. It is a requirement. Civil servants, officials in particular, are paid by tax payers to perform their duties rather than complain or sleep on the job.

The importance of the premier's warning stands out as China faces heavy downward pressure of economic growth this year.

After a 24-year low of 7.4 percent, China's economy, the world's second largest, has entered a new normal of a medium-high speed driven by quality, efficiency and innovation.

To accomplish new growth targets depends on a thorough implementation of reform measures and work plans mapped out by the top leadership. What the country needs is devotion instead of dwindling motivation.

The bureaucratic inertia of some public servants, including leading cadres, is a dangerous obstacle to the country's ambitious reforms, as it may have even worse impact than material forms of corruption. China must resolutely and strictly deal with a "new corruption" -- the laziness of some officials.

Idle work style among some officials is a kind of resistance against the country's ongoing reform and anti-corruption campaign, which targets interest groups as well as high-ranking "tigers" and minor "flies."

It is a fact that a small portion of officials traded their power for illegal benefits in the past. Their motivation to fulfill their normal duties is gone with such gains no longer available due to the intensive corruption crackdown.

China must take measures to remove the stumbling block to realize its reform and development plans.

Over the past two years, thousands of officials have been punished for their undesirable work styles such as formalism, bureaucratism, hedonism and extravagance. They are warnings to lazy officials.

The Communist Party of China has vowed zero tolerance to corruption. For the sake of maintaining economic momentum and anti-corruption concerns, no space should be spared for any civil servants, including officials, who indulge themselves and are lazy and incompetent at their posts.