12345 hotline

12345 is a special telephone number in China that is answered by a local government switchboard to handle non-emergency questions. The hotline also gives local government officials insight into what citizens are thinking.^[1]

History

The first local government hotline was set up in 1983, and many more were established in the 1990s as residential landlines became more prevalent.^[2][3] In 1999, the Ministry of Information Industry replaced the various local numbers with a single, nationwide 12345 number.^[3] Operators do not themselves have the ability to solve callers' problems, rather they act as a "bridge" to route callers to the correct department or official.^[3]

Chinese state media have promoted Jinan's hotline, which launched in 2008, as a model example, as it consolidated and replaced 38 distinct hotlines.^[2] Shanghai started its 12345 hotline in 2013.^[1] Guangzhou launched one in 2015.^[1]

The Chinese central government implemented standardization rules in July 2017, requiring 12345 hotlines to operate 24 hours a day, and to respond to calls within 15 seconds.^[2]

See also

• 311 (telephone number); similar system in the United States and Canada