President Xi Jinping on Aug 18 urged Communist Party of China (CPC) and government officials to step up efforts to implement reform and achieve targets.
Xi made the remarks at the 15th meeting of the Central Leading Group for Deepening Overall Reform. Premier Li Keqiang, senior leader Liu Yunshan and Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli also attended the meeting.
Reform has made solid and steady progress since the beginning of the year, and new breakthroughs have been reported in critical areas, Xi noted.
He emphasized that CPC organs and governments at all levels must show greater determination and perseverance in advancing reforms and find solutions to new problems arising from the reforms.
He called for the setting of accurate targets and concrete implementation of reform measures.
The leading group adopted six reform plans covering top legislature’s power to correct problems revealed by audits; improving judicial accountability of courts and procuratorates; developing world-class universities; promoting compulsory education in underdeveloped regions; and on the management of lost identity cards.
Among these plans, a document to improve reporting on issues uncovered by audits to the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, the top legislature, urged the committee to correct auditing, budgeting and expenditure records.
Another document demanded independence for court workers, stressing effective management and supervision as well as clear and transparent jurisdictions and responsibilities for court staff. Judges are responsible for cases they have dealt with even after retiring, and those giving illegal verdicts will be held accountable.
A similar document targeting prosecutors makes prosecutors liable for wrong decisions or misconduct during investigations. The document called for strengthened supervision of prosecutors.
China intends to make some institutions of higher learning world-class, and to raise the overall quality and international competitiveness of higher education, while improving education in poverty-stricken areas.
There will be inspections of weak primary schools and junior high schools. Inspectors will focus on channeling government funds into these schools.
China will cut red tape so that citizens can renew their ID card in localities other than where their hukou (household registration) is registered, should their ID card expire or be lost.
The country should prioritize reforms which are conducive to a steady economic growth, restructuring, improving people’s livelihood, and stemming risks, as well as reforms that will set rules and norms for future practices, the statement said.
Attendees at the meeting urged drastic and pragmatic reform measures be put forward in fields of state-owned enterprises, fiscal and taxation policies, finance, judicial system, and Party building, among other areas.
Efforts will be made to guild officials and the public to recognize that reform is the sure path to invigorate all kinds of tasks carried out by the Party and the government.
