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Anti-pomp reforms need sterner enforcement
By Ni Tao |
December 24, 2012, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINA'S top leadership is spearheading a campaign against official flamboyance.
In a recently concluded national meeting where the economic blueprint for 2013 was unveiled, attendees were surprised to find the conference hall unadorned with flowers or plants, in contrast with previous elaborate decoration.
In addition, all attendees received only a pen and a notebook for note taking, whereas in the past they would receive more stationery items.
Media have interpreted these changes as signs of a reform dictated by the top ranks of the Party, indications that the leadership is getting serious about promoting thrift and trimming pomp, not least at official receptions, but on all occasions.
In light of other recent events, this trend becomes clearer.
When Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, visited Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province, earlier this month, the press noted that no roads were closed and there was no police convoy. Later, when Xi laid a wreath at the foot of a sculpture of late leader Deng Xiaoping in a park, no red carpet was rolled out. Nor were crowds of onlookers asked to leave.
Since assuming office, the new leadership has demonstrated a strong willingness to curb the ostentation and profligacy for which some cadres have become notorious.
Another admirable aspect of the reform launched by Xi and his like-minded colleagues is to cut the red tape of bureaucracy, starting with shortening the time of official meetings. This could be a great relief to millions of civil servants who otherwise would have to sit through lengthy, mind-numbing meetings, sometimes in smoke-filled rooms.
At a recent meeting in Guangzhou about the macro-economy, which Xi moderated, he freed speakers from the ordeal of handing in their speech texts in advance for censoring and encouraged them to speak freely.
In another recent development, Liu Yunshan, one of the seven members of the Politburo Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee, forbade participants from reading their texts verbatim at a meeting. Instead, they were ordered to speak naturally. This is a challenge for those who are less articulate, but it goes a long way toward reducing unnecessary gatherings of people who appear programmed to spout boilerplate.
Wind of change
All the latest initiatives by the Party leaders signal a "wind of change" in Chinese politics, a sign that the top brass is keen on simplifying the bureaucratic process. The "wind," however, needs to blow even more strongly to make some wayward cadres alter their behavior.
Two weeks ago, online vigilantes exposed that more than 30 officials from the police force and judicial system of Wuhu City, Anhui Province, had stayed for a meeting at a five-star hotel nestled in a mountain resort. All meals and accommodation were, of course, at public expense. At a time of a national crackdown on luxurious meetings, this scandalous behavior indicates that many of our governments are hopelessly populated by bon vivants.
Half-Month Forum, a Xinhua-affiliated publication, reported that despite warnings from above, receptions and banquets still flourish at local levels, saddling grassroots officials with enormous fiscal and physical burden.
One cadre is quoted as saying that he once attended eight banquets in one evening, but returned home still hungry after having nothing but alcohol. Many claimed it is a thankless obligation to fete their superiors.
In China's system, as the saying goes, whatever examples superiors set, their subordinates will follow. The ongoing top-down reform to shake up officialdom has had some effect through the exemplary leadership of senior politicians.
Still, the Wuhu case, and countless others that go unreported, reveal the reform's limits. These limits can only be overcome by sterner punishment.
So let the "wind" grow into a storm.
In a recently concluded national meeting where the economic blueprint for 2013 was unveiled, attendees were surprised to find the conference hall unadorned with flowers or plants, in contrast with previous elaborate decoration.
In addition, all attendees received only a pen and a notebook for note taking, whereas in the past they would receive more stationery items.
Media have interpreted these changes as signs of a reform dictated by the top ranks of the Party, indications that the leadership is getting serious about promoting thrift and trimming pomp, not least at official receptions, but on all occasions.
In light of other recent events, this trend becomes clearer.
When Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, visited Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province, earlier this month, the press noted that no roads were closed and there was no police convoy. Later, when Xi laid a wreath at the foot of a sculpture of late leader Deng Xiaoping in a park, no red carpet was rolled out. Nor were crowds of onlookers asked to leave.
Since assuming office, the new leadership has demonstrated a strong willingness to curb the ostentation and profligacy for which some cadres have become notorious.
Another admirable aspect of the reform launched by Xi and his like-minded colleagues is to cut the red tape of bureaucracy, starting with shortening the time of official meetings. This could be a great relief to millions of civil servants who otherwise would have to sit through lengthy, mind-numbing meetings, sometimes in smoke-filled rooms.
At a recent meeting in Guangzhou about the macro-economy, which Xi moderated, he freed speakers from the ordeal of handing in their speech texts in advance for censoring and encouraged them to speak freely.
In another recent development, Liu Yunshan, one of the seven members of the Politburo Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee, forbade participants from reading their texts verbatim at a meeting. Instead, they were ordered to speak naturally. This is a challenge for those who are less articulate, but it goes a long way toward reducing unnecessary gatherings of people who appear programmed to spout boilerplate.
Wind of change
All the latest initiatives by the Party leaders signal a "wind of change" in Chinese politics, a sign that the top brass is keen on simplifying the bureaucratic process. The "wind," however, needs to blow even more strongly to make some wayward cadres alter their behavior.
Two weeks ago, online vigilantes exposed that more than 30 officials from the police force and judicial system of Wuhu City, Anhui Province, had stayed for a meeting at a five-star hotel nestled in a mountain resort. All meals and accommodation were, of course, at public expense. At a time of a national crackdown on luxurious meetings, this scandalous behavior indicates that many of our governments are hopelessly populated by bon vivants.
Half-Month Forum, a Xinhua-affiliated publication, reported that despite warnings from above, receptions and banquets still flourish at local levels, saddling grassroots officials with enormous fiscal and physical burden.
One cadre is quoted as saying that he once attended eight banquets in one evening, but returned home still hungry after having nothing but alcohol. Many claimed it is a thankless obligation to fete their superiors.
In China's system, as the saying goes, whatever examples superiors set, their subordinates will follow. The ongoing top-down reform to shake up officialdom has had some effect through the exemplary leadership of senior politicians.
Still, the Wuhu case, and countless others that go unreported, reveal the reform's limits. These limits can only be overcome by sterner punishment.
So let the "wind" grow into a storm.
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