Beijing trims local gov't liaison offices, steps up supervision\\Income gap not as big as earlier th

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Beijing trims local gov't liaison offices, steps up supervision

08:46, January 29, 2010      

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The Chinese government has decided to cut the number of local government liaison offices in Beijing and strengthen supervision to cut cost and root up corruption, a senior official from the Government Offices Administration of the State Council said Thursday.

Counties, local government departments, and development zones were ordered to close liaison offices in the capital within six months, the unnamed official quoted a circular issued by the State Council's General Office on Jan. 19 as saying.

As of 2006, Beijing has 50 liaison offices representing China's provinces and special economic zones, 295 representing major cities, 146 representing local government departments and 436 representing counties, figures from the administration showed.

Liaison offices of provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions and special economic zones could retain their offices in Beijing, while established city-level liaison offices could be kept only after being approved by provincial governments, according to the circular.

The official warned local government to guard against loss of state assets when liaison offices were closed saying the assets should be dealt with according to relevant regulations.

Liaison offices usually have assets that include apartments, guest houses and hotels, and restaurants.

The circular also clarified major functions of retained liaison offices, which should offer "high-quality, frugal and efficient" service for the economic and social development of their localities.

The liaison offices should shoulder tasks entrusted by their localities' Communist Party of China (CPC) committees and government, as well as by the central Party and government organs, the official said.

They should also cooperate with the Beijing municipal government in maintaining the capital's stability, offer service for institutions and people from their localities, and help to administer and provide training and service for migrant CPC members from their localities who came to work in Beijing, the official said.

To enhance supervision and fight corruption, local government should conduct audit on its liaison office each year, and the Government Offices Administration is empowered to conduct spot-check on local government's audit results when necessary, according to the circular.

The official said members of the retained liaison offices should be strict with themselves, shun from extravagant receptions and strictly control expenses.

The official said "local government liaison offices s played positive role in coordinating work among regions, handling some emergency incidents, and maintaining the capital's stability."

However, lax supervision, a swelling number, shoddy quality, vague definition of their functions were problems plaguing these offices, the official said.

Some local government liaison officials were even implicated in serious corruption cases and resulted in serious negative social impact, he said.

The measures outlined in the circular could "enhance the building of a clean government, building up a good image of the CPC and the government, cutting administrative cost and expenses, and pushing forward the transformation of the liaison offices' functions," the official said.

Source:Xinhua

Income gap not as big as earlier thought

08:22, February 05, 2010      

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By Song Shengxia

The income gap between the rich and poor in China has been narrowing in recent years and may have been overstated in the past, according to a report released Tuesday by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

While the report suggests that China's efforts to tackle one of its toughest social problems are being increasingly recognized worldwide, some experts are challenging the report results while pointing to the core issues that they say the government needs to address to further narrow the national wealth gap.

The report said that increased welfare spending in rural areas and growing migration to cities has helped mitigate the increase in inequality across the country.

Richard Herd, a senior economist at the OECD, said at a press briefing Tuesday in Beijing that the migration of rural people to urban areas for work allows them to increase their income dramatically.

Income inequality is measured by the Gini index, which ranges from zero to 100, with zero indicating complete equality and 100 showing complete inequality, while 40 is seen as a warning threshold.

According to academics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), the Gini index stood at 49.6 in 2005. However, the OECD put the index at 41 in 2005 and 40.8 in 2007, based on what it called a better gauge of price changes and unregistered rural migrant workers in cities.

Wu Yaowu, an associate professor with the university's Institute of Population and Labor Economics, told the Global Times that it's possible that the increase in China's inequality has leveled off in recent years.

"The wealth gap in China has been overstated by international organizations and even government researchers in the past because they failed to include the rural population that migrated to cit-ies, because it's difficult to track down their income," he said.

Since 2004, there has been a significant shortage of laborers in cities – a trend that helped raise the average monthly income of migrant workers from between 300 yuan ($43) and 600 yuan in 2002 to between 1,200 and 1,500 yuan now.

He said that as rural migrants in cities earn more than those staying in their hometowns, their income level can be used to level off the figure if it's included in the estimate.

"There's no doubt that China has made incredible progress in recent years to lift people out of poverty," Wu said. "There will be no group in the social stratum deprived of opportunities to share in the fruit of China's development."

Source:Global Times
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Universities to rival West's in 25 yrs: report

08:25, February 05, 2010      

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By Liu Dong

China's elite universities may rival the world's top-tier educational institutions within 25 years, according to the president of Yale University.

"China and India aspire simultaneously to create a limited number of world-class universities to take their places among the best," Richard Levin, the Ivy League's longest-tenured president, was quoted by The Guardian newspaper as saying on a trip to the UK. "China, in particular, has the will and resources that make it feasible. It has built the largest higher-education sector in the world in merely a decade."

The top niche has long been dominated by US and British universities. China's highest ranking institutions are the University of Hong Kong, placing 24th, and Tsinghua University, which ranks 49th, according to the Times Higher Education Supplement.

But Chinese authorities have unveiled massive investment programs, representing 1.5 percent of its GDP, to facilitate its elite universities to wedge into the top echelon of schools.

In 2008, the number of college students enrolled in China numbered 6.08 million, or 172 times the total in 1949 and six times that of 1998, according to Zhou Ji, the county's former education minister.

"Despite remarkable progress, China's educational agencies are currently plagued by a flawed environment," Zhang Yiwu, a professor of social science at Peking University, told the Global Times.

"The academic sphere has been tainted with interest contention," Zhang said. "As academicians, government officials and university administrators play key roles in the allocation of research funds, political affiliation rather than academic achievements is critical in the allocation of grants."

Premier Wen Jiabao, speaking January 26 at a meeting focusing on ways to improve government efficiency, expressed grave concern over what he considered a trend among youths toward immediate rewards and quick gains. He also noted that "autonomous authority should be granted to universities for their operations."

"A state's strength and a nation's glory not only rest with its economic might, but also people's quality of life, as well as scientific and technological advancements, cultural foundations and moral resolve," Wen said.

"We are resolved to accelerate the construction of world-class universities. China definitely has the capacity to establish top-tier educational institutions. Uniformity only stifles the development of first-rate universities," he added.

China's ambitious move contrasts with Britain's recent marginal slash of its higher education budget by 449 mil-lion pounds ($719.52 million) for the 2010-11 school year, including a 215 million pounds ($344.54 million) reduction in cash for teaching, a move chided as potentially jeopardizing the prestige of British colleges.

Agencies contributed to this story

Source:Global Times
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