The progress achieved in the past two years fully testifies to the effect of deepening reform through streamlining administration and delegating government power. In fact, we have learnt about the importance of such reform from the course of China's history, especially from the success of the reform and opening-up program over the past 37 years. The several-thousand-year-long Chinese civilization provides useful references. In this year's Report on the Work of the Government, I quoted an old Chinese saying that "good governance should be simple in its exercise" and stated that "power should not be used arbitrarily". It was echoed by the deputies to the National People's Congress. My inspiration comes from the ancient Book of Rites, which teaches us that "good governance, when exercised, brings the world together as one community (See Chapter: the Conveyance of Rituals)." And according to the Analects of Confucius, one should "hold the people in reverence and be simple in the measures he takes" when governing the people (see Chapter: Yong Ye). In other words, the job of the government is to keep the people's interests at heart and hold itself accountable to the people at all times while minimizing its intervention and interference in people's lives. The book then goes on to say that "it would be rather unacceptable to be simple both in the way that the government relates to the people and in the measures that it takes." Put simply, if the government exercises power by treating the people as nothing more than just simple subjects, it would be irresponsible and even disrespectful of moral standards. Historically, the prosperity of a dynasty usually came from good simple governance, from freeing the people of levies and taxes to allow them to rest and recover, whereas the decline or demise of a dynasty was usually brought by doing just the opposite, as a bad government, as an old Chinese saying goes, "is more dreadful than a wild tiger." The reform and opening-up process, which began following the Third Plenum of the 11th CPC Central Committee, has led China to remarkable progress. This is one recent example of how good governance, simple in exercise, has achieved the purpose of lifting restrictions and unleashing people's ingenuity by way of reform and opening-up. For instance, rural land reform was conducted in the 1980s with the introduction of the household contract responsibility system, which gave farmers full autonomy in the operation of their land and quickly improved their livelihood. That being said, the delegation of power does not mean zero regulation, but rather better service on the basis of better regulation. China's history over the past several thousand years as well as its 37 years of reform and opening-up shows that over-regulation stifles progress. Only by removing restrictions could we spark creativity, unleash and expand productivity and steadily raise people's living standards. To sum up, the key to good governance is respect for the people and the principle of simplicity in the exercise of government power.
Our overall goal of deepening administrative reform and transforming government functions is to streamline administration and delegate power, combine power delegation with effective oversight, and improve service all in a coordinated way. Such a three-pronged approach will encourage mass entrepreneurship and innovation and mobilize the initiative at the central and local levels. It will help promote sustained and healthy economic and social development, cultivate a law-based, innovative, clean and service-oriented government at a faster pace to meet the requirement of the socialist market economy and socialism with Chinese characteristics, and eventually build up modern governance capacity. In this process, it is important to learn from the wisdom and fine traditions of our ancestors, such as the belief that "good governance should be simple in exercise", and apply it in the modern-day context to let labor, knowledge, technology, managerial expertise and capital play their full part in invigorating the market, open up all sources of social wealth and give all members of the society an equal opportunity to discover and realize their full potential. By so doing, we will be able to build new engines of growth, create fresh prospects for social progress, unity and harmony and ensure that our nation will always be a place full of vitality and dynamism.
II. Push for greater depth in streamlining administration and delegating power to further unleash market vitality and public creativity
To deepen this reform takes both courage and wisdom. The reform has come to a stage where more deep-lying problems and vested interests will be targeted and the accustomed style of management will be changed. This is by no means an easy task. What makes it even more difficult is that as a self-imposed reform by the government to shed and restrain its own power, to streamline administration and delegate power is just like taking a knife to one's own flesh. This is like sailing upstream against strong headwind. We would get pushed back if no progress is made, or simply if progress is not made fast enough. To ensure national development and people's well-being and sustained and sound economic and social development and that the economy continues to perform in a proper range, we must speed up this reform with utmost determination and courage. We must ensure the thoroughness of the reform without skipping or watering down any step or leaving any issue unaddressed. It is also important to design the reform measures properly and choose the approach and method wisely in light of specific circumstances to ensure smooth progress and greater effectiveness of the reform.
In deepening this reform, three things are vital. First, the reform must be a transparent process. Our policy must meet the needs of the people. It is the people who feel most deeply about the problems in our review and approval system and know the best what needs to be changed and how reform should proceed. Instead of simply asking the people to accept government decisions, the government should give the people the right to decide. It is their needs and what they feel most strongly about that should be the main focus of the reform. And steps and pathways of the reform should be formulated accordingly. We need more targeted and detailed measures to remove the "choking points" in innovation, "stumbling blocks" in getting things done and "blind spots" in regulation and service. Second, the reform must be carried out in unison between the higher and lower levels of government. As an old Chinese saying goes, "An army wins that unite all its ranks around the same spirit." In the context of this major reform, different levels of government must work closely together. For governments at higher levels, they need to listen to the suggestions from lower levels, the grassroots level in particular, to make the reform plan more feasible and operable. For governments at lower levels, while following through on the instructions from above, it is important to come up with concrete implementation steps suited to the actual circumstances. Except for matters concerning major public interests such as national security, environmental security and public health, the priority should be to reduce matters requiring approval. In cases where power delegation is duly required, different departments need to check with each other to ensure that the entire approval chain is delegated. No department shall cling to the power or simply pass on the responsibility without giving up the final say. Otherwise, any single department that refuses to delegate its power could completely stall a business start-up or investment program. That is why there must be a deadline for any necessary approval, be it before or after registration. The departments must link up their approval system and make relevant information known to the public. To which level should power be delegated shall be determined on the basis of the due responsibilities of local governments instead of passing the buck and simply leaving it to the grassroots-level government which may not be capable of handling the delegated matters. Third, it is up to the public to evaluate the effectiveness of the reform. Ultimately, it is the level of satisfaction of the people and companies and the actual results that should serve as the criteria for our reform efforts. The result should be measured not only by how hard we work or how many approval items we have abolished or delegated, but rather by if it is easier for our people and businesses to get things done with less time, money and energy.
Solid efforts should be made to promote streamlined administration and delegate power this year with clearly-set priorities and deadlines.
