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Premier: "Put People First" When Following Admin Law

The Chinese Government on June 28 held a national meeting on the implementation of guidelines for improving government under the rule of law, the Administrative Licensing Law and the newly amended work rules of the State Council.

In a speech at the meeting, Premier Wen Jiabao stressed the importance of governmental administration in accordance with the law and urged officials to improve their administrative abilities.

The guidelines, which took effect on March 22, indicate China should achieve its goal of building a government under the rule of law within the next decade and elaborates concrete goals concerning administrative and other reforms.

In order to achieve the goal, governments at all levels should strengthen administrative legislation, not only in the economic arena but also in social services. The legislation should stick to the principles of putting people first and to the unity of different laws and regulations, said Wen.

Different governmental departments should also exercise their responsibilities strictly in accordance with the law and speed up administrative reforms, standardize law enforcement and simplify procedures, the premier said.

In addition, governments should perfect supervisory mechanisms and encourage supervision of their administrative powers. A strict system of accountability should be formed and departments and officials with governmental power should take responsibility for their errors.

He said if supervisory authorities find departments and officials have engaged in malpractice or have breached their duties they should be and will be punished in line with the law.

Wen said officials at all levels should fully implement the Administrative Licensing Law, which took effect on July 1. The law restricts governmental power, helps increase the transparency of administrative approval procedures, and reduces the costs of administration.

As an important law to regulate the behavior of governments, the law will have a huge and far-reaching effect on the governments' work. Governments at all levels should speed up managerial reform and improve officials' management capabilities by strictly enforcing the law.

To regulate the performance of central government departments, China recently amended the work regulations of the State Council. Premier Wen urged all central-department staffers to study the regulations and set good examples for their subordinates.

Officials of governments at all levels should lay out comprehensive plans to ensure the enforcement of laws and regulations. Senior leaders should be models in abiding by the law, Wen said.

China started its efforts to regulate administration by passing the Administrative Procedure Law in 1989. So far, China passed the Law on State Compensation in 1994, the Law on Administrative Punishment in 1996 and the Law on Administrative Licensing in 2003. A series of administrative laws were listed on the legislative plan of the country's legislature, the 10th National People's Congress.