A complaints hotline can do more than resolve individual complaints. It can show a government what's going wrong everywhere, and help it fix that too, according to Ondrej Dostal, a Czech member of the European Parliament (MEP).

Speaking to CGTN at the 2026 Beijing Forum on Swift Response to Public Complaints, Dostal said Beijing's 12345 hotline has lessons for European cities trying to improve public services and build trust with citizens. 

He said the gap between the rights people have and the services they can actually access is one of the biggest challenges in government. A hotline like 12345, he said, could close that gap by putting citizens in touch with the right department, and by giving authorities a clearer picture of what people are complaining about.

"If we had similar mechanisms, it would very much help common people to really get the services they need without unnecessary hassle," Dostal said, adding that a system like this could also give people a more direct tool in how they're governed.

Technology should help governments listen

Dostal said Beijing's 12345 hotline shows how digital tools can turn individual complaints into a wider picture of what a city needs. By collecting and analyzing large volumes of complaints, AI can help officials spot recurring problems and inform policy decisions.

"Technology cannot rule. People have to decide what will happen," he said. "But technology like AI can streamline the process of finding new ideas or agreeing on solutions to problems."

He said these tools could be particularly useful in Europe, where administrative responsibilities are spread across many institutions and levels of government. Citizens often have to navigate complicated paperwork or rely on personal connections to get things done. AI could help identify the procedures that aren't working and make it easier for officials to help people quickly.

From responding to preventing problems

Dostal said the bigger lesson was that governments shouldn't just respond to complaints. They should look for patterns, and prevent problems before they arise. Analyzing complaints could help authorities target healthcare and social care better, and spot everyday environmental problems.

Beijing's approach cannot be directly replicated across Europe, he said – populations, legal systems and administrative structures are different. Still, he said its focus on coordination, digital tools and anticipating public needs offers useful lessons.

For Dostal, more responsive governance depends not simply on adopting new technology, but on ensuring that it helps people get what they need.