PUBLIC RESPONSIBILITIES

In China's political hierarchy, county chiefs have long been viewed as grass-root positions with of great importance because they are a bridge between higher authorities and the general public.

Ancient Chinese wisdom has it that "only when a county is in order, can a nation be at peace." This has proved true as county Party chiefs appear very vulnerable to corruption.

In neighboring Henan, more than 20 chiefs of the CPC's county committees have been penalized since 2006 for illegal practices. In one notorious case, Li Yinkui, former chief of the CPC's Fengqiu County Committee, was found to have accepted 1,575 bribes worth more than 12 million yuan (1.8 million U.S dollars).

A public outcry after the case led to demands that the power of Party chiefs at county level be contained through effective supervision and for the prevention of officials' personal power becoming Party decisions.

Reflecting on Cheng'an's pioneering work over the past 18 months, Zhang Chenliang says a major challenge was to clarify the rights and duties of each Party official and to standardize decision-making procedures.

The Cheng'an County authority has streamlined its daily governance into 345 categories, says Zhang. The decision-making power for each category has been clearly defined, with 185 going to the committee's standing committee, 110 to the committee's discipline inspection commission and other departments and the rest going to the full committee.

"The key is to make sure each department of the county's Party Committee has a clear idea what it is responsible for," says Zhang. By making their responsibilities public, residents will know who to turn to if there is a problem or complaint."