Quotable

"The era in which land could be supplied for construction to meet demand in China has gone, forever."

Gan Zangchun, deputy State land inspector-general with the Ministry of Land and Resources, saying that there may be a growing number of illegal land seizures in the future.

"The ministry is setting a good example for other ministries and departments by letting the public and media supervise where and how this money is to be used."

Ren Jianming, director of the Anti-Corruption and Governance Research Center of Tsinghua University, saying that the Ministry of Science and Technology has become the first central government agency to release a budget showing its plans for spending money on government cars, receptions and overseas travel.

"How can you expect food safety watchdogs to hand down a harsh punishment or shut down illegal companies if they are not financially independent from the companies?"

Sang Liwei, a food-safety lawyer in Beijing and a representative of the Global Food Safety Forum, speaking after supervisory bureaus in Shandong province received kickbacks from local food manufacturers for selling poor quality products.