BEIJING - China's ministries and provincial governments have responded positively to an "eight-point" plan for fighting formalism and bureaucracy issued by the new leadership of the ruling Communist Party.

An increasing number of government departments have pledged their support for the initiatives in the month following the December 4 meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, in which the "war" was formally declared.

The latest response has come from the Ministry of Education.

According to a package of self-disciplinary measures for building an "clean and honest organization," which was publicized online Saturday, the ministry promises to cut unnecessary formalities in meetings and inspection tours.

It vows to ban forums from being held under the name of the ministry or its departments and to more strictly control ministry staffers' presence at ceremonies.

As part of efforts to save taxpayers money, the ministry also says meals for business visitors will be arranged at the ministry's staff cafeteria and floral arrangements won't be made for meetings.

In the often-cited eight-point bureaucracy-busting instructions issued at the December 4 Political Bureau meeting, leaders urge authorities to improve their work style and forge closer ties with the masses in a bid to win public trust and support.

Officials should reject bureaucratism in domestic and overseas visits, reduce road closures for official activities and support more practical content in news reports.