People's Daily: Chinese Grassroots Officials Requesting Instructions on Everything Shows Buck-Passing and 'Tang Ping' Mentality
An editorial in the CCP mouthpiece People's Daily criticized Chinese grassroots officials for 'over-reporting' on trivial matters, pointing out that this stems from a desire to pass the buck and a 'tang ping' (lying flat) mentality.
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- 📰 Published: April 22, 2026 at 18:47
- 🔍 Collected: April 22, 2026 at 19:02 (14 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 23, 2026 at 15:03 (20h 1m after Collected)
Central News
(CNA Reporter, Taipei, 22nd) The Chinese Communist Party's mouthpiece, the People's Daily, published an editorial piece today directly criticizing the 'over-reporting' situation where Chinese grassroots officials engage in 'layer-by-layer reporting and asking for instructions on everything'. The reasons for this include these officials' desire to avoid responsibility by 'passing the buck upwards' and the 'tang ping' (lying flat) mentality of 'inaction while holding office'. Ultimately, this mentality stems from a 'distorted view of political achievement'.
In coordination with the CCP's internal study and education campaign on 'establishing a correct view of political achievement', the People's Daily recently published a series of articles. Today's article, titled 'Over-Reporting Must be Corrected', directly addresses the prevalent phenomena of 'reporting on everything' and 'tang ping' in China's grassroots bureaucracy.
The article points out that in China's grassroots units, it is common to hear phrases like, 'We can't decide on this, we have to ask superiors for instructions,' or 'The leadership hasn't spoken, so we can't move.' There are multiple reasons behind this 'over-reporting' phenomenon of 'layer-by-layer reporting and asking for instructions on everything'.
The article directly points out that these reasons include the responsibility-avoidance mentality of 'passing the buck upwards', the opportunistic mentality of 'showing one's face to declare a stance', the 'tang ping' mentality of 'inaction while holding office', and the dependency mentality driven by 'panic over lack of capability'.
The article states that some cadres report matters level by level even when they fall within the scope of their own authority and responsibility. On the surface, this looks like following rules and procedures, but in reality, it is 'evading risks and transferring responsibility,' causing some administrative tasks to fall into 'procedural idling.' Ultimately, the need to 'report on everything' stems from a 'distorted view of political achievement.'
This article argues that the 'three non-involvements' mentality of officials—'no involvement in responsibility, no involvement in risks, no involvement in conflicts'—is driven by their own selfish calculations: 'They only want to be officials but don't want to work; they only want to seize power but don't want to bear responsibility; they only want to shine (achieve results) but don't want to put in the effort.'
The article asserts that as grassroots cadres, 'reporting what should be reported, implementing what should be implemented, holding one's ground, and fulfilling one's duties' is what establishing and practicing a correct view of political achievement should truly look like. (Editor: Chiu Kuo-chiang / Yang Sheng-ru) 1150422
(CNA Reporter, Taipei, 22nd) The Chinese Communist Party's mouthpiece, the People's Daily, published an editorial piece today directly criticizing the 'over-reporting' situation where Chinese grassroots officials engage in 'layer-by-layer reporting and asking for instructions on everything'. The reasons for this include these officials' desire to avoid responsibility by 'passing the buck upwards' and the 'tang ping' (lying flat) mentality of 'inaction while holding office'. Ultimately, this mentality stems from a 'distorted view of political achievement'.
In coordination with the CCP's internal study and education campaign on 'establishing a correct view of political achievement', the People's Daily recently published a series of articles. Today's article, titled 'Over-Reporting Must be Corrected', directly addresses the prevalent phenomena of 'reporting on everything' and 'tang ping' in China's grassroots bureaucracy.
The article points out that in China's grassroots units, it is common to hear phrases like, 'We can't decide on this, we have to ask superiors for instructions,' or 'The leadership hasn't spoken, so we can't move.' There are multiple reasons behind this 'over-reporting' phenomenon of 'layer-by-layer reporting and asking for instructions on everything'.
The article directly points out that these reasons include the responsibility-avoidance mentality of 'passing the buck upwards', the opportunistic mentality of 'showing one's face to declare a stance', the 'tang ping' mentality of 'inaction while holding office', and the dependency mentality driven by 'panic over lack of capability'.
The article states that some cadres report matters level by level even when they fall within the scope of their own authority and responsibility. On the surface, this looks like following rules and procedures, but in reality, it is 'evading risks and transferring responsibility,' causing some administrative tasks to fall into 'procedural idling.' Ultimately, the need to 'report on everything' stems from a 'distorted view of political achievement.'
This article argues that the 'three non-involvements' mentality of officials—'no involvement in responsibility, no involvement in risks, no involvement in conflicts'—is driven by their own selfish calculations: 'They only want to be officials but don't want to work; they only want to seize power but don't want to bear responsibility; they only want to shine (achieve results) but don't want to put in the effort.'
The article asserts that as grassroots cadres, 'reporting what should be reported, implementing what should be implemented, holding one's ground, and fulfilling one's duties' is what establishing and practicing a correct view of political achievement should truly look like. (Editor: Chiu Kuo-chiang / Yang Sheng-ru) 1150422