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11-03-2013, 07:56 AM
Change soup but not the ingredients. We have seen it all in Malaysia but the way wealth disappears into invisible hands remains unchanged.
China announces big overhaul of ministries
Published on Mar 11, 2013
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By Grace Ng China Correspondent
BEIJING - China is planning what could be the biggest overhaul of its government bodies in a decade, abolishing its debt-laden Railways Ministry while reorganising agencies in charge of key areas like oceanic resources, energy and food safety.
The changes will bring China's once-bloated bureaucracy down to 25 ministries, as Communist Party chief Xi Jinping and incoming Premier Li Keqiang seek to root out graft and inefficiency while boosting control over sectors of strategic importance.
"The reorganisation, which involves raising the status of some ministries like Food Safety and Maritime Law Enforcement while lowering others, reflects the top leaders' new priorities," said China University of Political Science and Law professor Liu Junsheng.
Beijing is dismantling the Railways Ministry, hiving off its regulatory role to the Transport Ministry and its operations to a new state-linked company.
Experts like China Governance Academy professor Wang Wei say this long-awaited change allows China to coordinate road, water, air and rail transport better, improving ease of travel.
Meanwhile, a so-called "super ministry" to oversee food and drug safety - a top public concern - will be formed.
Another key merger involves combining agencies for fisheries and maritime law. This comes as China asserts its rights over disputed territory in the East and South China seas with neighbours like Japan and Vietnam.
"In order to strengthen the protection and use of oceanic resources (and) secure the country's rights and interests, there is a need to integrate maritime law enforcement powers," State Councillor Ma Kai said yesterday.
He was presenting the government re-alignment plan to the national legislature. In all, four agencies will be cut, reducing the total number of ministry-level bodies by two from 27 in 2008.
This will be China's seventh round of restructuring over 30 years. Former economic tsar Zhu Rongji took one of the most drastic actions in 1998 by chopping 40 ministries down to 29.
But since then, reforms have slowed. The last round in 2008 cut six agencies, but added five "super-ministries".
This time, Mr Xi has merged the family planning commission, once an influential body handling China's one-child policy, into a new body with the Health Ministry. This reflects the top leaders' shifting focus, said Prof Liu.
Meanwhile, areas like energy have taken on greater importance. The National Energy Administration will be merged with an agency setting electricity rates, hopefully to make prices more market-oriented.
But some other hoped-for reforms did not materialise.
China's two media regulators were merged, contrary to speculation that they would come under the Ministry of Culture to pare down the state's role in this sector. Also, the National Development and Reform Commission, which faces calls for a roll-back of its extensive powers, was not mentioned yesterday.
This prompted some analysts such as economist Xu Xiaonan to voice scepticism about whether Beijing is serious about restructuring. The plan is like "a trick that blows hot and cold", he wrote on his microblog yesterday.
China announces big overhaul of ministries
Published on Mar 11, 2013
0
0
0
newspostPurchase this article for republication
photobankBuy SPH photos
By Grace Ng China Correspondent
BEIJING - China is planning what could be the biggest overhaul of its government bodies in a decade, abolishing its debt-laden Railways Ministry while reorganising agencies in charge of key areas like oceanic resources, energy and food safety.
The changes will bring China's once-bloated bureaucracy down to 25 ministries, as Communist Party chief Xi Jinping and incoming Premier Li Keqiang seek to root out graft and inefficiency while boosting control over sectors of strategic importance.
"The reorganisation, which involves raising the status of some ministries like Food Safety and Maritime Law Enforcement while lowering others, reflects the top leaders' new priorities," said China University of Political Science and Law professor Liu Junsheng.
Beijing is dismantling the Railways Ministry, hiving off its regulatory role to the Transport Ministry and its operations to a new state-linked company.
Experts like China Governance Academy professor Wang Wei say this long-awaited change allows China to coordinate road, water, air and rail transport better, improving ease of travel.
Meanwhile, a so-called "super ministry" to oversee food and drug safety - a top public concern - will be formed.
Another key merger involves combining agencies for fisheries and maritime law. This comes as China asserts its rights over disputed territory in the East and South China seas with neighbours like Japan and Vietnam.
"In order to strengthen the protection and use of oceanic resources (and) secure the country's rights and interests, there is a need to integrate maritime law enforcement powers," State Councillor Ma Kai said yesterday.
He was presenting the government re-alignment plan to the national legislature. In all, four agencies will be cut, reducing the total number of ministry-level bodies by two from 27 in 2008.
This will be China's seventh round of restructuring over 30 years. Former economic tsar Zhu Rongji took one of the most drastic actions in 1998 by chopping 40 ministries down to 29.
But since then, reforms have slowed. The last round in 2008 cut six agencies, but added five "super-ministries".
This time, Mr Xi has merged the family planning commission, once an influential body handling China's one-child policy, into a new body with the Health Ministry. This reflects the top leaders' shifting focus, said Prof Liu.
Meanwhile, areas like energy have taken on greater importance. The National Energy Administration will be merged with an agency setting electricity rates, hopefully to make prices more market-oriented.
But some other hoped-for reforms did not materialise.
China's two media regulators were merged, contrary to speculation that they would come under the Ministry of Culture to pare down the state's role in this sector. Also, the National Development and Reform Commission, which faces calls for a roll-back of its extensive powers, was not mentioned yesterday.
This prompted some analysts such as economist Xu Xiaonan to voice scepticism about whether Beijing is serious about restructuring. The plan is like "a trick that blows hot and cold", he wrote on his microblog yesterday.
