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G. Further Transforming Government Functions and Improving the Work Style

These measures are needed to adapt to the new situation in the reform and opening up and to build an honest, diligent, pragmatic and efficient government. We need to fully carry out the spirit of the Sixth Plenary Session of the Fifteenth Party Central Committee by concentrating on the following three tasks:

   Accelerating the transformation of government functions. Great progress has been made in reforming government institutions and in transforming government functions, but many problems remain to be solved. We need to further emancipate our minds, shake off the fetters of the traditional planned economy, and transform government functions into economic regulation, market supervision, social management and public service. We need to further define the functions of government departments to prevent cases like shifting one's responsibility to others or having no one take responsibility. We should conscientiously implement the basic principle of "running the country according to law" perform official duties lawfully and managing the government by high standards. We should deepen reform, reduce the scope of administrative examination and approval, standardize and simplify necessary approval procedures, stress openness and transparency, and clearly define responsibilities. For this purpose, the State Council has already issued instructions, and all local governments and departments should implement them conscientiously. We must accelerate the utilization of information technology in government administration, and promote e-administration to improve our working efficiency and exercise more effective supervision.

   Improving the work style of the government. There is the need to carry the fight against corruption further and build a clean and honest government. Performing official duties honestly and serving the people are requirements that derive from the fundamental purpose of our Party and the government, as well as basic norms that every government functionary must strictly abide by. Governments at all levels and all cadres must stay honest and clean and abide by the law. We must thoroughly investigate and prosecute those who have violated the law and discipline and those who are corrupt and degenerate or have abused power for personal gains. We need to intensify our effort to fight corruption and to prevent and eliminate its root causes. We need to conscientiously implement the Party Central Committee's decision to make this year a year for improving the government work style. We should resolutely get rid of formalism and bureaucratism, which harm both our country and the people. No effort should be spared to cut the number of meetings and official papers to a minimum. We should initiate investigations and studies, go all the way down to the realities of life and to the people to learn their actual conditions, listen to their opinions, share their weal and woe, and lose no time in solving the problems that they resent or are dissatisfied about. We must resolutely check bad practices, such as false reports to deceive one's superiors or subordinates, misuse of the people's financial resources, and coercion. We should speak the truth, do solid work, and stress practical results.

    Resolutely combating extravagance and waste. Extravagance and waste are already a serious problem in production, construction, circulation or consumption. Some local authorities like to build ostentatious projects in order to make a good impression or show their achievements. In urban development, they indiscriminately pursue things of the highest grade or standard. Some local authorities launch unfeasible construction projects when they cannot even pay wages on time. Some local authorities build luxurious office buildings and halls in violation of relevant regulations. Festivals and ceremonies of every conceivable description are celebrated, during which the hosts vie with one another for lavishness. Officials use public funds for wining and dining, extravagant entertainment and private travel abroad. This misconduct invariably consumes large sums of money, so we must resolutely stop this tendency. First, we must widely publicize the principles of working diligently, building the country and doing everything diligently and frugally. We must resolutely put an end to the erroneous practice of doing things without considering the actual conditions and probable results. Second, expenditures must be reduced. No effort should be spared to cut production, construction and distribution costs. All government departments, enterprises and institutions must make every cent count and prohibit all unnecessary expenses. All regions, departments and work units are obligated to formulate specific targets and measures for eliminating waste and reducing expenditures this year. Third, economic and financial discipline must be strictly enforced. A system of centralized collection and payment by the state treasury will be instituted for this purpose. Control over budgets, auditing and special financial accounts at all levels should be tightened. We will strengthen the management of revenues that exceed budget forecasts. Cases involving off-books accounts and arbitrary spending in violation of regulations will be investigated and dealt with severely.

    Governments at all levels must conscientiously subject themselves to the supervision of the people's congresses at the corresponding levels and their standing committees, take the initiative to strengthen ties with committees of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and listen to the views of the democratic parties, federations of industry and commerce, prominent figures without political party affiliation, and mass organizations. We need to further improve the democratic policy-making system, encourage people to oversee the work of government departments and their functionaries, widen the channels for promptly reporting social conditions and popular sentiments, and ensure that government work truly reflects the people's wishes and interests.

Fellow Deputies,
    It is of vital importance to ensure national security and social stability in the new circumstances. We must take strict precautions against and firmly crack down on, according to law, sabotage by hostile forces both inside and outside China, and we must crack down on criminal activities perpetrated by forces of terrorism, religious extremism and ethnic separatism. We must continue to fight Falungong and other cults. In order to make the entire society significantly safer, we must severely deal with criminal activities and Mafia-like and criminal forces in accordance with the law and improve public security where it is weak. Under the principle of combining action with prevention while putting prevention first, we must implement measures for the all-round improvement of social order, and we must actively establish a prevention and control system for public security and a mechanism that guarantees that funds are available for operations of procuratorial, judicial and public security organs. Community development and management and political power at the grass-roots level in rural areas need to be strengthened. Contradictions among the people under the new circumstances have to be handled correctly so that factors liable to adversely affect social stability can be eliminated at the grass-roots level while still in the embryonic stage.

    The fundamental interests of the people of all ethnic groups lie in strengthening ethnic unity and safeguarding the unification of the country. We will adhere to and improve the system under which ethnic minority groups practice self-government in the regions they inhabit. We need to fully implement the Party's policy on ethnic groups and consolidate and develop the socialist relationships of equality, unity and mutual assistance among different ethnic groups. We need to support and assist the ethnic minority regions to speed up their development. We will continue to implement the program to Develop Border Areas and Improve the Lives of the People There? Great efforts will be made to train cadres and talented personnel from among ethnic minority groups. We need to implement the Party's policy on freedom of religious belief, administer religious affairs effectively and in accordance with the law, and actively guide the various religions to adapt to socialist society. Religious circles must adhere to the principle of self-administration, running religious affairs independently, and we need to expand the contingent of religious patriots. We need to conscientiously implement the Party's policy towards overseas Chinese and handle overseas Chinese affairs well.

    Strengthening national defense and building up the armed forces constitute an important guarantee for national security and the smooth development of our socialist modernization drive. In line with the general requirements of being qualified politically and competent militarily and having a fine style of work, maintaining strict discipline and being assured of adequate logistical support, and taking the military strategy of active defense for the new era as our guideline, we will use science and technology to strengthen the armed forces, run the armed forces with high standards and concentrate on quality without neglecting thrift. This aims at building a more modernized, standardized and revolutionary army and improving its effectiveness in wars to defend the country and in handling emergency situations when the use of high technologies has become predominant in warfare. We need to accelerate the restructuring, reform and development of our defense industry, raise the level of its scientific research and innovation and promote the development of weaponry and equipment. The reform of logistical services must be deepened to achieve better performance of the military economy and provide more effective comprehensive support. We need to strengthen the People's Armed Police. We need to improve the national defense mobilization system and consolidate the militia and reserve forces. We also need to improve national defense education, encourage the armed forces to support the government and cherish the people, encourage the people to support the army and give preferential treatment to families of service people and martyrs, and consolidate and strengthen unity between the army and the government and between the army and the people.

    We should fully implement the principle of "one country, two systems" and the basic laws of Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions. It is our firm and unswerving objective to maintain the long-term stability, prosperity and development there. The Central Government will continue to render full support to the efforts of the governments and chief executives of Hong Kong and Macao to govern the regions in accordance with the law, and it will further strengthen economic, trade, scientific, technological, cultural and educational exchanges and cooperation between the mainland and Hong Kong and Macao. We have full confidence in the future of Hong Kong and Macao.

    In the new year, we will adhere to the basic principles of "peaceful reunification"and "one country, two systems" and, under the eight-point proposal for the solution to the Taiwan question put forward by President Jiang Zemin, we will continue to develop cross-straits relations in the direction of peaceful reunification. We reaffirm that there is only one China in the world and the Chinese mainland and Taiwan both belong to one China. China's sovereignty and territorial integrity tolerate no division. The one China principle is the basis and premise for developing cross-straits relations and promoting peaceful reunification of the motherland. We insist on resuming cross-straits dialogue and negotiation on the basis of the one China principle. We are working to further expand the cross-straits economic and cultural exchanges and develop cross-straits relations so as to establish the "three direct links" as soon as possible. We will, as always, continue to strengthen our exchanges and dialogues with all political parties and people of all walks of life in Taiwan who support the one China principle and the development of cross-straits relations. We support just actions against "Taiwan independence" attempts and for the country's reunification by overseas Chinese and people of Chinese origin across the world. We are firmly convinced that the great aim of national reunification will be realized at an early date.
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