V. Strengthen planning and leadership and ensure sound implementation of all reform measures
To deepen administrative system reform and transform government functions is a profound revolution that covers extensive areas and involves many difficulties. We must strengthen leadership and planning to move the reform forward in an active yet prudent manner.
First, strengthen mechanisms and clarify responsibilities. The State Council will continue to focus on streamlining administration, delegating more powers to lower-level governments and society, improving regulation and optimizing services. All regions and departments must also set up their corresponding leadership and working mechanisms where the principal leaders should take charge and make timely decisions on major issues in the reform. All reform items should be based on detailed division of tasks and duties, timetables, roadmaps and written pledges of responsibility. The reform will touch on the government's own interests, and we must have the courage to cut our own benefits to give them to the people, to make our society a more prosperous place.
Second, coordinate actions and boldly experiment with reforms. To streamline administration, delegate more powers to lower-level government and society, improve regulation and optimize services is a systematic project that needs to be guided by holistic planning and advanced as a whole. All regions and departments must have a firm understanding of the overall picture and implement the decisions to the letter to make sure that all directives are executed without fail and there is consistency in our actions across the country. For any reform decisions taken by the State Council, related documents and supporting measures should be introduced as quickly as possible without procrastination. A basic experience we gained in reform and opening-up is to respect the community and people's creativity. Many major reform measures started at the local or regional level and were then spread nationwide. In our reform such as administrative streamlining and power delegation, ample space is left for the regions. All regions should be bold in their exploration and innovation in light of their own conditions and the requirements and principles laid down by the State Council to take the lead in reform. At the same time, they should learn from other region's good experience and practices.
Third, be proactive and conscientious. Our civil service is professional, responsible and hard-working on the whole. The achievements of reform and opening-up have been the results of the common efforts by government officials at all levels and the people. In the future, we will still rely on our officials to lead the people in advancing reform and development. With regard to nonfeasance and perfunctoriness that do exist among some officials, we need to enhance ideological education to help them adapt to the new situation created by administration streamlining, power delegation, regulation improvement and service optimization, and guide them to make new achievements in promoting prosperity and stability in their own regions. At the same time, we must create stronger incentives and disincentives to encourage officials at all levels to be proactive and conscientious in their work. Government staff, civil servants at the community level in particular, have a very heavy workload and their income is not high. While resolutely barring the "back door" and addressing issues of civil servants making illegal gains with their power, we should also open the "front door" to establish a mechanism for regular salary increases so that civil servants' income will be raised in tandem with economic development and their legitimate welfare and dignity will be ensured. Last year, the State Council introduced policy on improving the salary and pension insurance system for public institutions, and the salary adjustment in all regions must be implemented by the end of June.
Fourth, greater oversight and strong implementation. All regions and departments should incorporate administrative streamlining, power delegation, regulation improvement and service optimization into their performance evaluation system and improve the assessment mechanism. There should be greater and innovative ways of oversight and inspection that incorporate third-party and public evaluation. Good experience should be disseminated in a timely way and issues discovered should be solved without delay. Failure to implement will be subject to accountability. All this will help to ensure solid implementation of all reform measures. In the coming months, the State Council will conduct a major inspection of government departments and local regions, to make sure that measures to delegate power, improve regulation and optimize services are implemented throughout from the "first mile" to the "last mile". This will be conducive to strengthening the efficacy of our policies to stabilize growth, advance reform, adjust structure and benefit the people.
Fifth, promote steady progress of reform in accordance with law. The law is an instrument of paramount importance in national governance and good laws are the precondition for good governance. Reforms such as administrative streamlining and power delegation must be promoted on the basis of the rule of law and major reforms should have solid legal ground. At the same time, laws and regulations should also meet the demand of reforms and be adjusted and improved in a timely way to promote order and vitality at the same time. When delegating powers, relevant departments need to propose accompanying revisions to laws. The revision and legislation process should subject to close scrutiny to prevent the legalization of departmental interests. Extrajudicial extension of powers will be strictly prohibited to prevent new expansion of government powers. All the relevant regulations should be overhauled promptly at the requirement of the State Council and all those that have no legal basis or detrimental to the people's lawful interests are to be abolished or revised.
