How much do CPPCC meetings cost? $9 million
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Premier Wen Jiabao said on Saturday that China will speed up its attempts to make the budgetary plans public. Many NPC deputies saw his remarks as indicating the government's determination to become more transparent.
This year, the central government fiscal report to the NPC listed 18 spending categories and a total central government expenditure that amounted to 4.83 trillion yuan for 2010.
Still, deputies said the report did not contain enough details.
"It only has general figures," said Chen Shu. "The expenditures in the smallest category come to tens of billions of yuan. We still don't know the details of how the central government used the money."
In 2010, more than 70 central government departments posted their budgets to the Internet. That same year, 12 provincial-level regions disclosed spending statements to the public, doing so either once a month or once a quarter.
Dai Bohua, spokesman of the Ministry of Finance, said on Tuesday that the ministry will publish the main parts of the government's 2011 central budget and balance sheet, which will contain more details than were released in 2010.
Budget information for all central government departments will also be published. Among the records made public for the first time will be budgets accounting for officials' overseas travel, the purchase and repair of government vehicles, the accommodation of officials and administrative expenditures.
"I think by making the budget public the government will win more trust from the people," said Jiang Hong, another CPPCC National Committee member.
"Besides aiming for greater transparency, I hope they will publish balance sheets that are easier for the people to understand."
