Q: Administering state affairs according to law, and honest and highly efficient administration are among the aims of any government. In this regard, what has the Chinese Government done and to what effect?

A: The administration of state affairs according to law, and in an honest and efficient manner, is also the aim being pursued by the Chinese Government. The Report on the Work of the Government made by the State Council at the annual session the NPC frankly admitted flaws in the work of the government and raised the need to "speed up establishing a government ruled by law."

Deepening the reform of administrative procedures is the sticking point in transforming the government's functions, advancing management innovations and preventing corruption. On July 1, 2004, the first Law on Administrative License took effect. It specifies the scopes of government power and administrative license and only reserves a small number of administrative licenses that really belong to the "public good." The law propels the governmental shift from being an "all-round government" to a limited government, and cancels or adjusts items of administrative examination and approval that the government should not manage, cannot manage or cannot manage well. By the end of 2004, all departments under the State Council had cancelled or adjusted 1,806 items of administrative examination and approval, more than half of the total. Local governments also cancelled or adjusted more than 50 percent of the total items of administrative examination and approval, accelerating the transformation of government functions and administering state affairs according to law.

Another symbol of a government ruled by law is transparency and openness. Therefore, China requires all government agencies to open their information to the public, except for state secrets, trade secrets and personal privacy protected by law. The public should have the right to refer to information and the government should make it conveniently available to the public. In the meantime, all government regulations, rules and other legal document as the bases of administration should be made available in publications, government websites or on bulletins for easy public access.

Furthermore, in strengthening the supervision of government power, China gives full play to the roles of specific departments, such as supervision and auditing, to strengthen supervision over the performance of functions and fulfillment of responsibilities by the government, promoting honesty of government functionaries and securing the smooth implementation of government orders. At the same time, the state further expands supervision by citizens, society and media over the government and its departments. If only people supervise the government, the government will not keep a slack hand and government functionaries will not abuse their power.

Another aspect in establishing a highly efficient government is the reform and improvement of decision-making mechanisms. In recent years, under the principle of making decisions scientifically, according to law, and democratically, the government has established and perfected a decision-making mechanism that connects public participation, expert consultation and collective decision-making, hearings, publications, assessment after decision-making and accountability in office. Consequently, the work of the government is more scientific, democratic and open, promoting efficiency.