Li on government overhaul
The plan for institutional reform and transforming the government function has drawn a lot of attention. Is this your ideal plan? How can the reform achieve the goal of streamlining administration, delegating power to the lower levels and transforming government function?
The core of this reform plan is to transform the government function and streamline administration. We can say the institutional reform is to optimize the distribution of the government’s internal power, and the transforming function is to redefine the relations between the government and society and between government and the market.
Frankly speaking, let the market and society decide what they are capable of accomplishing. The government should manage affairs well in what it is supposed to do.
Institutional reform is not an easy task. However, the function of transformation is a tougher one because it is more profound.
The administrative examination and approval system is too complicated to improve efficiency. So the government’s transformation work has to be started with reforming that system. Right now, departments of the State Council still hold the approval rights of more than 1,700 items, the government of this term has made up its mind to cut more than one-third of its approval items.
Use the market to replace the improper roles of government. This is a self-imposed revolution and it will be painful, like cutting the wrist. But it is needed to develop and deliver the want of people. We should have the determination to cut the wrist like brave warriors. We should practice what we preach and cannot afford to dwell on the trivial.