China congress cites graft, economics in downsizing:
biz.yahoo.com
By Scott Hillis
BEIJING, March 10 (Reuters) - Delegates to China's congress on Tuesday said rampant corruption and inefficiency led to them overwhelmingly approve a plan to streamline a bloated government and sack millions of bureaucrats.
The measure to axe the number of ministry-level bodies to 29 from 40 and trim the immense bureaucracy was adopted by a margin of 2,814 to 12 by the National People's Congress. There were 33 abstentions.
Delegates seated in Beijing's cavernous Great Hall of the People clapped in unison when the result flashed on two giant electronic boards flanking the stage where top communist leaders were seated.
Rushing off to dinner after listening to three hours of speeches, delegates praised the trimming as an important step towards a healthier economy.
''This will cut the size of the government, improve efficiency, reduce expenditure and ease the burden on the people,'' said Li Zhugen, a delegate from the central province of Henan.
The plan was unveiled last Friday by cabinet secretary general Luo Gan, who told parliament: ''The malady that sticks out is the lack of separation between government and enterprises.''
After hearing reports by China's top judge and procurator, or attorney-general, that corruption was still rising despite efforts to weed it out, delegates said the plan would help combat official graft.
''The government is vast, its efficiency is low and corruption is linked to a bloated bureaucracy,'' said Wang Mingshi, a delegate who works as an engineering professor at Tianjin University.
''It's common to have one official for every three or four people in rural areas,'' said Xi Huaiying, a middle-aged delegate from Anhui province who voted for the measure.
"Village cadres are getting fat," Xi said.
Under the scheme, government-run businesses are to be freed from the meddling of civil servants unfamiliar with the workings of a market economy.
But some delegates to the rubber-stamp congress voiced fears the streamlining was too vague or would not be carried out.
''The strength of reform is not big enough,'' said Henan province's Li, who is also president of the Henan Electric Power Corp.
''The act of giving control to enterprises may not fully be accomplished,'' said Lu Yansun, a member of parliament's finance and economic committee.
''But making this step already show our determination to reform,'' Lu said.
Despite those concerns, the outcome of the vote was never in doubt.
China's official Xinhua news agency reported 30 minutes before the secret ballot that the body had ''decided to approve'' the measure. |
