The 2024 Beijing Forum on Swift Response to Public Complaints kicked off in Beijing on Wednesday with the theme "Modernizing for People-Centered Urban Governance."

Home to more than 21 million permanent residents, the Chinese capital city initiated "swift response to public complaints" reform in January 2019 based on the public service hotline 12345.

Over the past six years, the hotline has received 150 million appeals, with the resolution rate rising from 53 percent to 97 percent and the satisfaction rate rising from 65 percent to 97.3 percent, said Shen Binhua, director of the Beijing Municipal Administrative Service and Data Management Bureau.

Li Wenzhao, deputy head of Capital Development and Governance Institute of the Renmin University of China, said that the people-centered philosophy lies at the heart of the "swift response to public complaints."

The starting point of "swift response to public complaints" is the people's demands, and the key is that the government and other departments can respond quickly, handle appeals efficiently and give timely feedback, Li said.

Ma Shujie is a 63-year-old retired teacher who was struggling to find a suitable nursing home for her 89-year-old mother-in-law in Beijing. With no luck finding a nearby facility, Ma turned to the 12345 hotline for help. Her request quickly gathered momentum as other similar cases were raised by citizens across Beijing. Thanks to the combined efforts of different government departments, more than 1,000 community-based eldercare stations were established, and Ma's mother-in-law found a facility just a short walk from her home.

As for Li, government departments can also plan forward-looking governance based on the data generated by the governance of appeals when responding to and handling appeals, which is an active governance process in the work of "swift response to public complaints.”

In Beijing, a database has been built on the basis of 150 million appeals that the Beijing 12345 Citizen Hotline Service Center has received.

Since 2021, Beijing has "calculated" the most concentrated livelihood pain points and governance blocking points based on the big data analysis of people's livelihood demands in calling 12345 in the previous year, said Feng Yingyi, deputy director of the Beijing 12345 Citizen Hotline Service Center.

Over the past four years, more than 60 issues have been brought under special management, more than 1,800 tasks have been completed, and a number of practical things have been accomplished to improve people's livelihood, Feng said, adding that more than 400 policies have been introduced to truly address both symptoms and root causes.

As many elderly residents complained of climbing stairs and requested installation of elevators in old residential buildings, Beijing launched a service platform to facilitate more old buildings to install elevators at the beginning of 2024. An 80-year-old resident of Beijing's Haidian District, surnamed Chen, looked at the construction site downstairs of his home and was full of expectations. "After the elevator is installed, it will be more convenient to go downstairs for a walk," Chen said.

Noting the "swift response to public complaints" has been accepted by the grassroots and the municipal departments, Shen said 12345 is a hotline connecting the government and the people, and also a hotline that has catalyzed the profound change of urban governance.

Experts also noticed that "swift response to public complaints" not only improves the efficiency of the government in responding to the demands of the public, but also promotes the realization of the goal of an efficient government.

Li Xiaozhuang, deputy head of the Institute of Sociology at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, said that with "swift response to public complaints" reform, Beijing has expanded the channels for residents to appeal their demands, which in turn allows the municipal government directly understands the residents' thoughts and expectations.

"That greatly promotes the reform of the government management system, improves the efficiency of the government to serve the people, and forms a simple and efficient grass-roots management system, which is a major and profound urban management system reform in history," Li said.

Meng Tianguang, a professor from Tsinghua University's School of Social Sciences, also noticed that the "swift response to public complaints" reform improves the efficiency of the government to serve the people.

"By analyzing vast amount of data from citizens' requests, the mechanism of 'swift response to public complaints' offers valuable insights that help inform decision-making at the highest levels. It's an essential tool for science-based governance," Meng said.

Meng added that nowadays with artificial intelligence being put into application in Beijing 12345 Citizen Hotline Service Center, the hotline services have become warmer and more refined. Meng cited two examples: one is that the operator volume should not exceed 70 decibels, so that the public can have a better experience, and the other one is that calls from foreigners can also be translated in real time.

"We often receive calls from foreigners in Beijing, asking for 'how to apply for visa extension, how to apply for work permit' and others," said Wang Shuo, an English operator at Beijing 12345 Citizen Hotline Service Center. Wang added that the foreigners also asked about any problems they faced in daily life.

In March 2024, the 12345 hotline helped the children of a foreigner in Daxing District prepare relevant materials and go to school in the district.

Nowadays, the Beijing 12345 Citizen Hotline Service Center has hired multilingual operators and partnered with Beijing Foreign Studies University volunteers to provide enhanced language support, Feng said.

As China expands its visa-free policy, Beijing has seen an increase in international visitors. "The 12345 hotline stands ready to offer guidance for their travels in China, and we encourage feedback about any inconveniences they encounter," Feng said.

After visiting the center in April, Brazil's Workers Party leader Gleisi Hoffmann was amazed at the platform which integrates resources and strength from all relevant departments.

It embodies the Communist Party of China's philosophy and purpose of putting the people first and serving the people wholeheartedly, Hoffmann said.