Premier Wen Jiabao vowed greater official accountability in his
work report to the National People's Congress (NPC), but building a
rational accountability system that tallies with the law will be a
very difficult task, according to NPC deputies and experts.
The concept of accountability took shape in 2003, when the
minister of health and mayor of Beijing were sacked for negligence
in relation to the spread of SARS.
Later that year, Ma Fucai, president of the state-owned China
National Petroleum Corporation, resigned after a gas well run by
his company exploded and killed 243 people. The latest high-profile
case occurred last month, when a vice-governor in the northeastern
province of Liaoning
was sacked over a local coal mine blast that killed 214, one of the
worst mine disasters in years.
"But a mature accountability system is not simply about firing
officials," said NPC deputy Yang Caishou.
"One thing that must be clarified is that the government is an
entity of limited liability and should not be responsible for
everything," added Yang, who is also mayor of Hechi, a city in Guangxi
Zhuang Autonomous Region.
He said in some cases citizens tend to turn to the government
for things that are outside its responsibility, such as mediating
disputes with employers. These cases may also damage officials'
careers with their wide impact on society.
"To have a reasonable accountability system we first need to
define the scope of the government's responsibility and hold
officials accountable within this scope," said Yang.
In 2002 his city introduced accountability policies that use
detailed criteria to evaluate local officials' performance in
economic promotion and social administration.
Several city and county officials were removed from office for
accidents, according to Yang.
"In many cases officials are held accountable because of major
accidents that have very bad social repercussions, but many people
don't know that few such cases are about a specific administrative
activity that violates citizens' interests," said Mo Yuchuan, a law
professor at Renmin University.
Every year, citizens file thousands of complaints, asking
government departments to review certain administrative activities
that affect their interests or even asking the courts to step in.
In many cases these activities must be changed or revoked, said
Mo.
"The law has very clear rules about right or wrong in tackling
disputable administrative activities," he said. It takes time to
put in place a system that evaluates officials' performance fairly
and rationally.
But there will be some progress soon as a law will be enacted
setting out clear standards of conduct for civil servants, Mo
noted.
The NPC Standing Committee started reviewing a proposed Law on
Civil Servants in December, which requires civil servants in
leading positions to "take the blame and quit their posts" if their
faults cause "major losses or severe social impact," or if they
have executive responsibility for major accidents.
Punishable activities also include fraud, gambling and
superstition.
(China Daily March 9, 2005)