For Sun, lying flat can also be a reaction to unreasonable directives from higher authorities. He warned that heedlessly following orders at the grassroots level could harm relationships between officials and the public. He cited a case involving curbing de-agricultur-alization of farmland using satellite images. In one case, a pigsty that served as a family’s main livelihood was marked for demolition for unauthorized use of arable land.
But local officials found the land in question was not arable, and did not implement the demolition directive, sparing the family significant economic loss. But in doing so, the local official could be labeled as lying flat. “But implementing the directive would be outright misconduct,” Sun said.
For Wang Jie, a major problem faced by grassroots officials in their daily work is the overwhelming burden of bureaucratic formalities.
“Many tasks fall on these officials, but during evaluations, their performance can be censured over just one of these many tasks. Such relentless pressure leaves many feeling defeated, prompting some to give up and lie flat,” he said.
Professor Lü, who conducts field research on the issue, shares the sentiment. Lü told NewsChina that many local officials are assigned impractical or meaningless tasks and red tape related to bureaucratic formality.
“During our research, some experienced local officials admitted to lying flat as a way to resist these unrealistic demands,” Lü said.
In the past years, central authorities launched various campaigns to curb formalism and reduce the burden on grassroots-level departments. In January 2021, the CCDI announced that it dealt with 69,000 cases of formalism and bureaucratism from January to November in 2020, punishing 53,000 officials for such practices.
In August 2024, the General Office of the CPC and the State Council introduced a guiding document that rolled out measures to curb red tape, reduce the number of official documents and supervision, inspection and assessment activities, streamline meetings and clarify the rights and responsibilities of grassroots departments.
Given the problem has been entrenched for a long time, few believe the measures will lead to substantial change in the near future.
“Formalism is an inherent and persistent ailment of large organizations, deeply entrenched and prone to recurring,” Professor Ju Hua said.
“Whether through campaign-style governance or regular mechanisms, only with sustained effort and precise execution can long-term success be achieved, ultimately relieving grassroots officials of unnecessary burdens,” Ju added.
For many, with underlying causes not effectively addressed, authorities should be more cautious in employing evaluations to search for lying-flat officials.
A disciplinary official from Jiangsu Province who asked not to be named told NewsChina that to tackle the problem of low morale, authorities need to address systemic issues within the political system, rather than focusing only on individual officials, which could even be counterproductive.
Yang Jianhua, a former member of the Zhejiang Provincial Government Advisory Committee, cautioned against overusing evaluations, which can easily be misused, leading to heightened tension both among fellow officials and between officials and the public.
Yang warned that evaluations conducted among officials are heavily influenced by personal connections, and overdependence on these measures could lead to the “bad driving out the good.”
For Lü, department leaders should also be accountable for the morale of their teams. “To boost the morale of lower-ranking officials, authorities should consider more about how to motivate their subordinates and foster an atmosphere where they are enthusiastic about taking the initiative and driving innovation,” Lü said.
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