A government staff showing the app. [Photo/thepaper.cn]

THE REAL ESTATE REGISTRATION CENTER in Huangshi, Central China's Hubei province, allowed just 50 residents a day to complete the registration process, which is far from enough to meet the demand. When a journalist asked about this, Chen Hong, the head of the center, said he would rather delay ordinary residents than let his staff bear a heavy workload. Thepaper.cn comments:

It seems Chen had ample reason for his words: He wanted to cut the workload of his staff. The problem is, they are paid by taxpayers to serve the public. When Chen decided to sacrifice the convenience of the public for longer rest hours for his staff, he was using bureaucratic power to compromise the quality of service people should enjoy.

A closer look at the incident also reveals some deeper problems. It is hard to imagine such things would have happened if it were a private company, because a private company must serve its customers well in order to make a profit and survive, and it could not afford to make things hard for customers.

The root cause of Chen sacrificing customers' rights and convenience is that he only needs to serve his superiors, not ordinary people. Even though the slogan "Serve the People" is hung in every government office, it is higher government officials that decide their future, and ordinary people hardly have a say. That gave Chen the confidence to sacrifice people's rights.

The incident is not an isolated case. Many people have expressed online the difficulties they have encountered when visiting government agencies.

The central leadership has long been simplifying administrative procedures. A main objective of this is to make the bureaucracy more convenient for ordinary citizens. It is time that various levels of governmental departments, in Huangshi city and elsewhere, heeded the central leadership's call and improved their services.

Chen and several of his colleagues have already received their deserved penalties. While applauding the efficiency of the local disciplinary agency, we also hope more disciplinary agencies nationwide will learn from its example and put an end to such absurdities.