A Good Government and a Harmonious People - The Goal of China's All-round Institutional Reform

BEIJING, March 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report by China.org.cn on China's all-round institutional reform:

China announced a major institutional reform plan of the State Council, at the just-concluded annual sessions of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, known as the "two sessions." The merging, dissolving and setting-up have touched upon almost all the institutions of the State Council, and covered many areas, such as ecology and the environment, agriculture, judicial affairs, finance, immigration and veterans' affairs.

Over the past 40 years of China's reform and opening up, the State Council has carried out seven major institutional reforms, in which the approach of "dissolving" was almost always prioritized. Take the reform in 1998 as an example: the constituent departments of the State Council were streamlined and reorganized from 40 to 29 in number, with the administrative staff downsized by nearly half.

In its latest institutional reform, in addition to "dissolving," the government has attached greater importance to "optimizing." Take the restructuring in agriculture area as an example. In the past, the management functions related to agriculture were divided among departments including the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Water Resources, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance and the State Forestry Administration. No matter how hard the civil servants worked, the communication and coordination of multiple departments still reduced work efficiency and increased costs. There was a joke in describing the situation: "A frog will be under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Agriculture when it jumps into a rice field, and it will be under the jurisdiction of the State Forestry Administration when it jumps into the nearby woods."

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs established after the reform has assimilated the scattered functions related to agriculture and thus put right the relation between authority and responsibilities. At the same time, its management function has expanded to the "rural areas," which is a social sphere. This symbolizes the increasing attention paid to the social and personal development in the countryside following this round of institutional reform.

Everybody knows reforms are difficult, especially when they involve the redistribution of powers and interests. Therefore, they require good design and resolute enforcement, with no compromises or exemptions at any time for any individuals or events. As the curtain rises, the administrative restructuring, as other reforms of the country, will be carried out in full sail.

A Chinese proverb goes like this: the government functions well, and the people enjoy peace. The on-going institutional reform will help bring about positive changes to China's economic and social development, and it echoes the founding mission and objective of the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government. That is: serve the people.

China Mosaic
http://www.china.org.cn/video/node_7230027.htm

A good government and a harmonious people ? the goal of China's all-round institutional reform
http://www.china.org.cn/video/2018-03/22/content_50736248.htm

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SOURCE China.org.cn