The mayor of Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province, Central China, has been praised by the public for replying to a recent open letter by a city resident criticizing his government's failure to reduce air pollution. That such a normal act has become news itself testifies the lack of a regular interaction mechanism between government officials and grassroots people.

So instead of basking in the public glory for just one action of the mayor, local decision-makers should ponder how to establish a regular and smooth communication channel to ensure public voices are fully heard and considered while devising policies.

In the letter to Zhengzhou Mayor Ma Yi, posted on the Internet, 59-year-old Li Guofa expressed dissatisfaction over the local government's efforts to clear the smog shrouding the city. His manner of complaint was in sharp contrast to the polite ways people usually choose to interact or deal with even mid- or lower-level officials, let alone a high-ranking official like the Zhengzhou mayor.

"Maybe you can't hear public voices, but they actually blame and criticize you for this every day," Li said in his letter. "As the highest-ranking official of the city government, you should meet people's call to control air pollution even at the cost of the growth of GDP and government revenues ... This could make the city's performance during your term less eye-catching and government coffers lighter, but the latter are less important when compared with residents' health and safety."

Li also prescribed multiple cures for the city's smog, such as shutting down polluting factories, reducing the use of vehicles by half and strengthening monitoring of construction sites.

The letter spread fast via social media after being posted online, drawing many comments. To Li's surprise, the mayor replied to the letter on the official website of the city government, thanking him for paying attention to the city's development, and said his government would seriously consider his "constructive" suggestions and proposals to reduce air pollution.