At the State Council meeting on Aug 26, Premier Li Keqiang asked local administration institutions to stop confusing the public and clarify their procedures as well as their fee schedule.

“I heard that at one place, people used to go to the office and pay 100 yuan for procedures. Now they can just send an e-mail and handle it online — but the fees rose to 500 yuan, which is incredible!” the Premier said at the meeting. “The original goal was to simplify the procedure, but the situation became worse. Many people said they would rather go to the office even several times, to save money.”

Premier Li said that many approval items just changed in format, as some officials used the change for their own personal gain, making the process more difficult.

“How to solve the problem and dispel people’s worries? There’s only one way: Further promote the reform of administrative streamlining and power delegation,” the Premier said.