Authorities urged to manage lawsuits against governments
Chinese central government authorities said on Tuesday that they will encourage local governments to explore different creative ways to reform, a move observers said gives local governments more authority and is necessary to accomplish the reforms initiated by the new leadership.
China's administrative organs were also urged to perform their duties in response to lawsuits filed by the public, according to the 17th meeting of the Central Leading Group for Deepening Overall Reform headed by President Xi Jinping.
The group approved a series of reform guidelines on taxation, State-owned enterprises (SOE), government administration and civil disputes. Xi said that to ensure reform plans hit the ground and take root, local governments must be encouraged to explore various ways to reform.
"Allowing and encouraging grass-roots innovation and bold exploration should become an important method to make sure reform plans hit the ground," Xi told the meeting, adding that authorities must work hard on how to make realistic reform plans, and how to deal with hurdles that come with change.
The meeting was also attended by Premier Li Keqiang and senior leader Liu Yunshan.
Zhou Fangsheng, deputy director of the China Enterprise Reform and Development Society, said the central government's new move addresses the problems and is practical.
"Top-down designs cannot solve everything, they will work only after grass-roots governments find the best solutions to local conditions," Zhou told the Global Times on Tuesday. "Local officials should be allowed to make mistakes, to guarantee that such reforms are carried out."
He added that the major problems that stunt reforms include a lack of incentives to push through with the reforms.
Li Danming, retired deputy director of the policy research department of the Communist Party of China Committee of Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, also said the new move sends a bold message for China's reforms. "Local governments will enjoy more leeway to explore their reform plans and implement the plans consistent with their unique conditions," he said.
Public interest reforms
Tuesday's meeting also urged administrative organs to perform their duties in response to lawsuits filed by the public.
The public's right to sue the government is crucial to protecting public interest, said a statement issued at the meeting.
According to the statement, administrative organs should support people's courts in accepting and hearing such cases, appear in court to respond to lawsuits, cooperate with investigations, and guarantee the rights of citizens, enterprises and organizations to file lawsuits.
Ma Changshan, a law professor at the East China University of Political Science and Law, said that the guideline which urges local governments to respond to lawsuits shows the central government's determination to strengthen public supervision over local governments.
He also suggested that the scope of administrative litigation should be expanded to better supervise administrative organs' acts and protect public interest.
The statement also called for a more efficient way to solve local disputes to protect people's legitimate rights and promote social justice, by sticking to the leadership by Party committees and government management.
It also urged them to prevent disputes in policy-making, administrative law enforcement and judicial litigation, and to solve disputes in line with laws and regulations. On local reform, officials should listen to the public's advice and draw lessons from problems, said the statement.
The meeting also passed a guideline breaking SOEs into two groups. Commercial ones will be tasked to increase State capital and play by market rules, while public welfare ones should focus on serving society and guarantee people's welfare.
Zhou said effectively carrying out the reform requires different assets in every SOE to be broken down into commercial and public categories, and to place assets in different entities. The SOEs should not be allowed to profit while receiving government subsidies, Zhou said.
