Society

Role of urban residents committee strenthened

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-11-10 10:47

BEIJING - China has moved to strengthen the role of urban residents committees in resolving social conflicts and offering public service.

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The committees are now facing "heavier tasks" in social management and their functions in maintaining social stability have become more  "prominent", according to a ten-year blueprint on the construction of urban residents committees issued by the General Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council Tuesday.

By 2020, residents in urban residents will have more substantial democratic rights and the committees' functions of managing community affairs and offering public service will be "remarkably enhanced", read the proposals for reinforcing and improving the building of urban residents committees.

Wang Jinhua, deputy director of the Department of Social Administration at the Grass-root Level under the Ministry of Civil Affairs, said the proposals had set a direction for improving the work of tens of thousands of urban residents committee in the next decade.

China's quick urbanization has accelerated the growth of urban residents committees, the number of which stood at 84,689 as of 2009, and where a direct election system is promoted.

People usually held the stereotyped view that positions on those committees were mostly held by the elderly and middle-aged women and their functions were restricted to neighborhood affairs such as supervising enforcement of China's family planning policy and mediating family quarrels.

Aside from those functions it already has, the proposals say urban residents committee's functions will be expanded to include providing assistance to government authorities in public security, employment, social insurance and safeguarding rights for the elderly, disabled, minors and migrant populations.

The committees are also entitled to hold public hearing on affairs concerning city dwellers' interests, evaluate the work of grass-root level government administration, its agencies and staff, according to the proposals.

An urban residents committee will be composed of five to nine members and local police and civil servants are also encouraged to take posts on those committees, the proposals say.

The proposals added those who have taken posts at urban residents' committees will win credit in civil servants recruitment and are more likely to be promoted in government institutions.