Official in Jiangsu empowered by 'fault tolerance'

A Chinese official in Huai'an, Jiangsu province, has been promoted despite violating regulations while pushing forward a significant industrial project. The case highlights China's evolving "fault tolerance" mechanisms, designed to encourage innovation and risk-taking among officials.

The official, identified only by the surname Xie, was cited by the discipline inspection commission of Huai'an's Qingjiangpu district for allowing omissions in technical indicators during a civil air defense inspection for the SF Huai'an Innovation Industrial Park project. The project, a key endeavor for Huai'an in 2023, was launched to establish an e-commerce enterprise service platform and a smart logistics base.

In June 2023, the project's construction company sought civil air defense inspection. However, due to a lack of specific technical indicators for the second phase, it couldn't proceed through the standard approval process. Xie then proposed a phased, fault-tolerant approval, requiring the company to commit to rectifying deficiencies at a later stage. This enabled the first phase to secure a construction permit, advancing the project by three months and saving the company more than 2 million yuan ($279,000). As a result, the civil air defense inspection was fully completed by September 2023.

The district's discipline inspection commission determined that while Xie's actions violated regulations, they were aimed at accelerating a key project and supporting enterprise development. The company later provided the necessary materials, and no evidence of personal gain by Xie was found. Consequently, Xie was granted fault tolerance and promoted.

Huai'an has been strengthening its fault tolerance and correction mechanisms since last year, issuing guidelines for reporting risks in critical work areas. In Hongze district, another part of Huai'an, 17 types of risk reporting scenarios were detailed this year to guide officials in innovative practices.

Yan Zhen, a lawyer with Hiways (Nanjing) Law Firm, explained that the fault tolerance mechanism aims to encourage officials to reform, innovate and take responsibility. However, he stressed the importance of correctly applying the "three distinctions": distinguishing between acting for the public good or personal gain, differentiating between work mistakes and intentional violations, and accurately understanding policy boundaries.

"Officials who make deviations or mistakes in reform, innovation and taking on responsibilities — as long as they do not violate Party discipline and national laws and regulations, diligently fulfill their duties, do not seek personal gain and promptly correct their errors — will not be negatively evaluated," Yan said. "Relevant responsibilities will be exempted or handled with leniency. We will actively care for and protect officials who are keen on reform and daring in innovation."

He added, "At the same time, we must grasp the policy boundaries, strengthen investigation, verification and scientific identification, boldly tolerate faults when necessary and resolutely not tolerate faults where inappropriate."

Yan clarified that fault tolerance will not be granted for violations of Party discipline or laws, or for actions that, while not violating discipline or laws, lead to serious safety incidents, severe environmental pollution, ecological damage or major public incidents.

Across China, various cities are refining these mechanisms to foster a more proactive and entrepreneurial environment for officials.

In December last year, Tianjin's discipline inspection commission specifically studied fault tolerance and exoneration for its State-owned enterprises, encouraging officials to be more enterprising.

Hangzhou's discipline inspection commission, along with other departments, deepened fault tolerance and correction procedures in 2024 concerning investment attraction and policy innovation, boosting enthusiasm and entrepreneurial vitality. From January to October, Hangzhou dealt with 43 fault tolerance and correction matters, granting fault tolerance or reducing penalties for 89 individuals.

Similarly, during that period, Jiang'an district in Wuhan, Hubei province, granted fault tolerance and reduced penalties or exonerations to five officials, with the aim of alleviating their concerns and boosting their enthusiasm for work. In September, the discipline inspection commission of Guangzhou, Guangdong province, issued guidance on standardizing fault tolerance work for disciplinary inspection and supervision bodies.

Guo Jun contributed to this story.