A government building under construction in Wangjiang county, a poverty-stricken area of East China's Anhui province, Dec 3, 2011. The building covers about 40,878 square meters. An investigation was launched in late 2010 after pressure from the media and public but no official was ever held responsible. [Photo/IC]

A NEW seven-storey office building in Nanjing Chemical Industry Park in Jiangsu province, East China, remains unused even though it was completed four years ago. There are many developments in Nanjing that have remained unoccupied for many years. Beijing News commented on Wednesday:

People may wonder how many similar office buildings remain unused in the city?

An indisputable fact is that all the unoccupied buildings were constructed as "government buildings", which means they were built with public money. Inevitably this has caused serious damage to the public's interests. Idle office buildings, therefore, are a silent testimony to abuses of power.

The officials concerned have at the least engaged in conspicuous consumption. Therefore, there should be comprehensive investigations of all government construction projects that lie idle.

Effective ways to dispose of them should also be found.