China plans to greatly limit government power with a law on administrative licensing, dealing with the rights of government bodies to decide what a person can and cannot do in their lives.

The draft law, aiming to curb the widespread misuse of such power by governments, was tabled with the national legislature for its first hearing in Beijing on Friday.

"The misuse of government power has become a major source of corruption and caused great inconvenience to the people," said Yang Jingyu, director of the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council, in his report to lawmakers.

The draft law provides that only the National People's Congress (NPC) and its Standing Committee and the State Council, as well as provincial legislatures and governments, have the right to decide whether government permission is needed by citizens to start a business, drive a car or do other things that may affect the interests of the public.

Ministries and commissions under the State Council will have no right to do so, it says.

As a World Trade Organization (WTO) member, Chinese governments at all levels were expected to exercise their power in a more transparent and efficient way, Yang said.

The law provides that government administration should be the last option only after all other means have failed, for instance if the market mechanism or the self-regulation of industries or intermediary agencies can't solve a problem.

A government license should only be needed by a citizen if his business is related to national or economic security, public interest, personal rights and property of other citizens, exploitation of rare natural resources and the distribution of limited public resources, the draft law says.

To avoid misuse of power by government bodies, franchises for the distribution of limited resources should be granted through bidding, auction or competition, the draft law adds.

According to the draft law, people who want to start a business or other enterprise will have to go to many fewer government agencies for approval. Even if approval from different government bodies are needed to get one thing done, for instance opening a restaurant, these bodies may also set up a special office dealing with restaurant certification so applicants do not have to go to different places.

(Xinhua News Agency August 23, 2002)