About 1,000 of China's county-level chief judges will undergo training from September to improve their performance and deal with the public, according to the Supreme People's Court.

The training is part of a nationwide campaign to ensure grassroots officials dealing with the public can tackle problems before they lead to social unrest.

The drive involves hundreds of thousands of county-level chief procurators, court presidents, police chiefs, prison wardens, and county Communist Party secretaries, who have received or will receive training in provincial capitals and Beijing.

"The campaign, both in scale and in form, is almost unprecedented under the Communist Party of China's administration," said Ye Duchu, a professor with the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

The training programs were aimed at improving capabilities of grassroots officials and maintaining long-term stability, said Ye.

"As China is experiencing a transition leading to both opportunities and challenges, the leaders are becoming more concerned about how well their policies are carried out, because, in the end, it's a question of whether the Party can survive better and longer," Ye said.

"The direct training could make the central government's orders reach the grassroots more effectively while the grassroots voice could be heard more clearly," Ye said.

On June 10, the Ministry of Justice started a 10-day training course for 325 prison wardens to improve prison safety and stability, and prevent recidivism. They will be joined by another 356 wardens later this month.

The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) organized courses for almost 3,000county-level police chiefs from February to May, to improve "professional skills such as on-line working, standardizing law-enforcement procedures and enhancing relations with the public."

Controversial cases such as the unrest involving 30,000 people in the southwestern Weng'an County in Guizhou Province last year triggered by the death of a schoolgirl were included in the courses for open discussion.

Meanwhile, about 3,500 grassroots prosecutors will undergo training in Beijing by the end of 2010, according to the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP).

In each training session, a senior SPP leader would sit in the class and participate in group discussions on topics of interest to the prosecutors.

"County-level procuratorates handle social disputes directly, giving us a bigger stage to protect social stability and unity, and help maintain smooth economic development," said an SPP spokesman.

Earlier this year, the Party discipline watchdog, the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), gathered 2,000 county-level CCDI heads to study in Beijing. The action was regarded by observers as a signal the government would root out corruption at grassroots levels.

In addition, the People's Daily reported in May that more than 600,000 village-level Party secretaries had finished training sessions.

"This training mainly focused on enabling local officials to use a scientific way of thinking for development, to control complicated situations and communicate with the masses effectively," said Xie Chuntao, deputy director of the Party history division of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee.

"Thus they can better handle disputes, problems and emergencies," he said.

China has about 16 million grassroots officials, who have daily contact with the public.

Source:Xinhua