Editorials

Watchful eyes on govt

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-03-11 07:51

Of the many promises in Premier Wen Jiabao's government work report, the most impressive is the vow "to create conditions for people to criticize and supervise the government".

Public oversight has been an integral part of the authorities' efforts to clean up government. Yet few take it seriously because everybody knows how difficult, if not impossible, it is.

Even with the latest rules requiring government institutions to share information, it usually takes a good fight for a citizen to acquire information that should have been available. With bureaucratic agencies continuing to operate in the dark and the public effectively excluded from the decision-making process, the talk of supervision is probably just a bunch of hot air. Even when people do see something wrong, more often than not, they have to battle their way just in order to have their stories heard.

But Premier Wen's promise to "create conditions" is inspiring because it instills hope. The National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee's subsequent vow to start addressing inquiries to government ministries is an encouraging step in that direction. To practice supervision, the NPC as the national legislature needs to make up its mind. The general public, however, needs everything other than resolve.

But it's not that necessary conditions do not exist. We have a near-perfect constitutional framework and heaps of regulations that should facilitate public scrutiny over the government. And there is a complete network of xinfang offices that is charged specifically to hear and handle complaints from the public.

Trouble is, they do not work, or do not work the way they were meant to.

When Premier Wen pledged to "create conditions," what first came to mind was to make those impressive designs work. There is no cure for corruption if public supervision remains an empty vow and if criticizing the government continues to be a costly adventure.

(China Daily 03/11/2010 page9)