On September 27, 2026, Singaporean newspaper Lianhe Zaobao reported that following the successive publication of mobile phone numbers of key officials by multiple local cities in China, an official journal of the Chinese Communist Party pointed out the possibility of this falling into "new formalism."

The article stated that on the 25th of this month, Changning City, Hunan Province, publicized the phone numbers of 132 key officials, including the city's Communist Party Committee Secretary and mayor. Kaba County, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, also centrally published the numbers of 202 officials on the 12th, resulting in 9 phone calls and 6 short messages being sent to the County Party Committee Secretary.

It further introduced that the Propaganda Minister of Kaba County explained that this measure was for residents to quickly contact relevant departments and leaders and efficiently solve urgent problems.

According to the article, the Communist Party's official journal "Banyue Tan," in a commentary article published on the 20th, reportedly praised such large-scale and concentrated publication of numbers as a social grassroots governance innovation that builds a "direct channel for complaints" between the public and officials, while stating that such a practice is rare in China.

On the other hand, the journal warned that in some areas, a "mere publication" phenomenon was observed, where calls would not connect once online interest waned, and residents' complaints would be neglected, potentially eroding government trust.

The journal also pointed out that addressing challenges such as how to integrate residents' complaints into the governance system, how to handle a large volume of incoming calls with limited energy, how to deal with complex complaints that exceed an individual's authority, and how to transfer numbers after official transfers, is necessary.

The article introduced an example where a former top official of Bozhou City, Anhui Province, who had previously taken the initiative to publish their personal number, fell from power in June this year, and their "people-friendly" image collapsed, leading them to be seen as a "performance-driven official."

Furthermore, it reported that when Chinese media called 10 local officials in 5 provinces in June, none of the calls to district and county heads connected, and only one grassroots township Party Secretary was able to answer.

Moreover, an anonymous Chinese scholar told Lianhe Zaobao that if top officials publish their numbers, residents will preferentially try to call those numbers, which, while appearing democratic and people-friendly on the surface, leads to the hollowing out of original responsible departments. It could also disrupt officials' original duties and often ends up failing. (Edited and translated by Kawajiri)