By staff reporter ZHANG XUEYING

Premier Wen Jiabao (right) visiting a farmer’s home while on an inspection tour of Northeast China.

CHINESE officials are displaying a far more human public persona these days than their traditionally severe demeanor, a change welcomed by the people. Formerly stern and rigid, they are now animated and unafraid to express enthusiasm before the public eye. Chinese civil servants no longer blend into a solid gray wall of officialdom, one indistinguishable from the other by virtue of the dry-as-dust officialese they speak. In the interests of promoting their work and achievements, officials are now happy to stand out as individuals.

Political Stars

Minister Bo Xilai at a press conference.

Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai is a national celebrity. While mayor of Dalian, the achievements of this tall, urbane politician of polished repartee and no-nonsense work style featured frequently in the media, making him a political “star.” His efforts resulted in Dalian’s becoming a model Chinese city in the mid- to late 1990s, and in Bo Xilai becoming a household name. His distinct administrative skills and public image are so closely linked that, as one veteran scholar of the Chinese political system remarked, “Bo Xilai’s skill at communicating with the public media has made him a symbolic personage.”

Wang Qishan has been described as “one of new-generation statesmen that draw the widest interest in China.” His statement, “Officials should be allowed to make improper remarks” is probably the most quoted ever. In May 2003, during the SARS outbreak in Beijing, Wang Qishan was transferred to the capital to serve as vice mayor. Through the public media he requested of the capital’s citizens that they “Tell us, please, anything you think we should be reminded of.” According to one opinion poll, Wang Qishan’s courage and resolution gave great comfort to Beijing inhabitants who were at that time living in a state of panic. After SARS passed, Wang Qishan was made mayor of the Beijing municipal government.

Beijing Mayor Wang Qishan.

Sichuan Province capital Chengdu has recently emerged from among Chinese cities due to bold measures initiated by Li Chuncheng, secretary of the CPC Chengdu municipal committee. He advocated use of putonghua (Mandarin Chinese) in all public affairs, and discontinuation of leading cadres’ practice of addressing one another by their official positions, rather than names. He also promoted renovation of Chengdu’s old urban districts, and succeeded in convincing the Intel Company to invest in the city. These measures have been dubbed “new dream of Chengdu” by the media. During Li’s tenure in Chengdu, the city invited Zhang Yimou to make a public relations film about Chengdu, at the end of which the distinguished director stated, “Chengdu, where once you have come, you are loath to leave.”

In the first nine months of 2004, Li Keqiang, then governor of Henan Province, succeeded in increasing the per capita income of farmers by 19.5 percent. This marked the first time in Henan’s history that growth of rural dwellers’ income surpassed that of urban inhabitants. Li was appointed at the age of 43, becoming China’s youngest provincial governor ever and the first with a doctoral degree. He is now Party secretary of Liaoning Province. During his tenure in Henan (1998-2004) he did not bring his family with him, just stayed with his secretary and bodyguard at the provincial hostel. He made three personal inspections of HIV/AIDS-infected villages, and promoted a survey on AIDS throughout the province. Li Keqiang appointed ten PhD scholars to be Henan government officials as a means of implementing his “Burgeoning Central Plains” strategy. Upon graduating as doctor of economics from Beijing University his thesis “On the Ternary Structure of Chinese Economy” won China’s top Sun Yefang Economic Science Award, and his book Strategic Choices for Prosperity has been published.

Progressive Reform

Beijing residents casting their ballots for community leaders.

“Government officials no longer reluctant to display their talents are the result of a more lenient working environment that allows them to give rein to their individual characteristics,” says Mao Shoulong, professor at Renmin (People’s) University of China, adding, “The mode of passive administration is changing to one of active administration.”

Last November, fourteen provincial/ministerial officials from Liaoning, Chongqing, Shanghai, Beijing and Shaanxi gave interviews to CCTV reporters and spoke of gains and losses in economic development. “We never expected this large number of provincial-level leaders to talk so frankly on camera about difficulties in their administration and how they have dealt with them,” said the producer of the program. Observers interpreted the program as having been chosen as a suitable channel for publicizing administrative gains and losses. It was also a direct opportunity for the general public to become acquainted with policy effect and the policy-making process, information that is, in the normal course of events, available only from government work reports delivered at the people’s congresses at various levels.

Beijing University professor of economics Shang Dewen’s comment was that the program indicates a new political atmosphere. Following developments in political reform over the past few years, officials have a better idea of how to face the public. Aware that their authority depends on the support of the masses, their work must be open to public scrutiny.

Since 1978, the Communist Party of China has simultaneously carried out political and economic reform. “Since ancient times, political reform in China has begun with changes in officialdom, as is currently occurring,” says Yang Guang, research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. In late 1980 Deng Xiaoping proposed “Reform of the leadership system of the state and Party,” which mainly involved overcoming bureaucracy, opposing patriarchalism, de-centralizing power and collective leadership, abolishing life tenure for leaders, and promoting inner-Party democracy. By the mid-1980s, this reform had evolved into “Reform of the political system,” and terms such as “dialogue,” “transparency” and “openness” began to appear frequently in the media.

Nanjing inhabitants fill out forms that assess the performance of government officials.

In the past 20-odd years, advocates of political reform have sought and found breakthrough points, two of which are elections for village committees and neighborhood committees. Making government affairs public and increasing the transparency of government organs are also regarded as breakthrough points, along with revising the Constitution and reforming the people’s congresses.

“China’s political reform is actually a trial of strength between power and rights,” says Yang Guang. In his opinion, genuine political reform can only occur through the Chinese people having the right to elect and supervise their leaders. This he sees as the ultimate proof of China’s political reform.

The rapid socio-economic changes taking place in China are seriously obstructed by its political system. The Chinese leadership headed by Hu Jintao has demonstrated its determination to carry out reforms. In 2004, the Communist Party of China issued six documents regarding open selection of leading Party and government cadres. They clearly stipulate that Party and government leaders at prefectural and county level be selected by ballot rather than by appointment. At the Fourth Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held in September 2004, Hu Jintao reiterated his principle “Use power for the people, show concern for the people and seek benefits for the people,” and proposed strengthening the ruling capacity of the ruling party. This resulted in the most rigorous annual government audit in recent history. It exposed several cases of corruption, including embezzlement of hundreds of millions yuan of public funds, erosion of state-owned assets, and financial misconduct on the part of the State Forestry Bureau and the State General Administration of Sports. No less than 600 officials were removed from office. In January 2005, the Communist Party of China began a large-scale educational activity, largest since the 1980s, aimed at heightening vigilance and bringing to bear more severe penalties for governmental misdemeanors.

Official Posts No Longer a Soft Job

In late 2002 Jiang Chenggu, deputy magistrate of Pengshui County under the jurisdiction of Chongqing Municipality, became unwilling initiator of the political phenomenon “Take the blame and resign” and thus ended his 15-year-long career as government official.

His resignation was caused by two road accidents. The first was on July 3, 2002 when a bus plunged down a mountain precipice, ostensibly owing to mechanical failure, causing 12 deaths. The second occurred on August 20 the same year, causing 26 deaths. It transpired that the true reason for the accidents was the bus driver’s being blind in his left eye, something that failed to be noticed in his annual physical checkup.

Provisions for Implementation of Resignation of Party and Government Leading Cadres of Chongqing Municipality contains stipulations concerning cadres whose dereliction of duty has resulted in fatal accidents and who should, therefore, be advised to resign. This document is believed to be the first “take the blame and resign” document ever issued in China.

Since the Jiang Chenggu affair, serving as an official has become a high-pressure occupation. According to statistics quoted by deputy county magistrate in Sichuan Province, regulations at various levels incorporate more than 180 stipulations regarding official behavior. Violations of them result in either disciplinary measures or removal from office. Officials in charge of production safety or road transport are under the greatest pressure.

Pressure is all the greater in view of China’s wide media coverage. All cases of “take the blame and resign” are a result of serious accidents with fatal consequences. Public opinion, to some extent, has also begun to determine the fate of government officials. By September 2004, inquiries about the responsibilities of at least 5,000 officials at various levels had been recorded. This new political phenomenon within China’s officialdom seriously challenges the concept of a “peaceful official.” It has brought pressure to bear on the 40 million officials on China’s mainland, making the post of government official a high-pressure occupation. Many officials confirm, “It is more difficult to serve as an official these days, largely as a result of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee’s emphasis on strengthening ruling capacity.”

It is reported that the “Take the blame and resign” principle is to be incorporated into the Law of State Public Servants. The reform of personnel, as key to China’s reform of political system, will be the “most exciting link.” Since the Fourth Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee, the legalization of personnel management has become more and more prominent. It is expected that a scientific and efficient official system will be established on the basis of official assessment and selection.

Professor Song Shiming of the National School of Administration is critical of the official “ladder” system as regards designation of positions. He points out that the system was first established in the Qin and Han dynasties (221 B.C. – A.D. 220) and was based on status, identity and salary; it did not require relevant qualifications for positions and made no provision for classified management. This system of government bureaucracy is still in force. Experts such as Professor Song advocate the more meritocratic system of civil service practiced in the West since the late 19th Century.

Since the Fourth Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee governments in various localities have sought a more democratic mode of official selection. Sichuan Province demands that an opinion poll be taken of all officials before their promotion to key positions. In Shandong and Fujian provinces, members of the township Party leadership are elected directly from within the Party – a move widely interpreted as signaling greater inner-Party democracy. In Xiangfan City, Hubei Province, all 14 members of the new Party and government leadership were elected on the basis of public recommendation.

Last December Jiangsu Province started its first 10,000-person appraisal activity, whereby the work of 82 provincial Party and government organs was assessed. Participating in the activity were people’s congress deputies and CPPCC members at various levels, government functionaries, township and neighborhood cadres, and representatives of urban inhabitants and farmers. Leaders of units whose performances were lacking were reprimanded and ordered to improve within a specified time, during which they would be checked regularly. Leaders of units whose work was persistently substandard would be penalized. An experimental assessment of government department performance based on administration cost and administration efficiency was meanwhile carried out in Xuhui District, Shanghai.

Expert in administrative systems Wu Jiang holds that China’s assessment of cadres is currently heading in a more pluralistic direction. He is, in cooperation with the European Union, doing research on methods of government official assessment. The project began in 2003, and experiments have been conducted in certain localities. Wu cites the factors that make setting up a scientific index system a difficult and slow process, such as immediate and long-term interests, superficial and potential interests, fairness and efficiency, and GDP and ecological environment. Assessing a leading cadre requires taking into account various goals. Such assessment is based on safeguarding the fundamental interests of the people.

Reforms to China’s officialdom are hampered by complicated contradictions stemming from old habits that go back thousands of years, structural obstacles and personnel quality. As observed in the foreign media, it will be a long-drawn-out reform. Even so, substantial, albeit cautious, exploration has already begun.