Government and Policy

Reform leading to good governance: scholars

By Wang Jianhua and Cheng Zhiliang (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-10-18 07:14

BEIJING - China will start a new round of governance reforms in democratic decision-making, as the Communist Party of China (CPC) goes to work on a roadmap for the next five years, according to a major political theorist.

The work will take place at the 17th CPC Central Committee's fifth plenary session, which opened in Beijing on Friday for the purpose of discussing the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015).

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Yu Keping, deputy director of the CPC Central Compilation and Translation Bureau, says that governance reform means exercising democracy in elections, decision-making, management and supervision. It also means guaranteeing the people's rights to be informed, to participate, to be heard and to oversee.

And this can only be done "with constant reforms and innovations".

Wang Yukai, a professor at Beijing's Chinese Academy of Governance, commented that the next five-year plan will be a major step on the road to building an effective and accountable government and that "good governance is a guarantee for the CPC to remain in power."

Administrative restructuring has been a major task since China embarked on its reform and opening-up drive in 1978.

But, the country really began the administrative restructuring in 1982 with the abolishing of life tenure at leading posts and by reducing the number of departments in the State Council from 100 to 61.

In 1984, China began to separate government functions from enterprise management and the State-owned enterprises could no longer be regarded as government "workshops".

Administrative reform will still be a pressing task over the long term. Observers think the reforms over the next five years will create a "political system with Chinese characteristics".

Yu has identified five priorities:

A government under the rule of law: the 15th CPC National Congress, in 1997, stated that the rule of law was the goal of political development. Premier Wen Jiabao said in August that a government under the rule of law was a "revolutionary change" in the managing of state affairs.

A responsible government: a government with power should take responsibility. The government needs to fulfill its responsibilities and answer to the needs of the people.

A service-oriented government: the government should provide good public services and spending on public services must be increased.

A transparent government: there can be no clean governance or efficiency without transparency. Disclosure of government information needs to be done fully.

A clean government: China needs harsher punishments and greater supervision to combat corruption.

In speaking about these reforms, Yu concluded: "Good government or good governance is difficult without a sound political system."