Agencies that have obtained administrative powers from government departments, for instance to approve official documents, issue permits or assess tax returns. Literally ‘intermediaries’, they have special access to high officials (hóng dǐng 红顶 'red hats') through their government affiliations, and often employ current or former officials. Government departments extract rent from agencies by overcharging them for the use of public buildings and utilities, or through direct money transfers. Li Keqiang 李克强 called for a clean up of red hat agencies at a cabinet meeting on 14 January 2015, considering them a major hurdle to reducing red tape.