China calls for improving social groups in govt reform

The role of social organizations in providing public services should be improved amid efforts to transform government functions, China's top legislators have said.

As an important part of transforming government functions, the central government has canceled or decentralized more than 632 administrative approvals required for businesses in an effort to ease market maneuverability.

A large amount of approval processes were transferred to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and social groups.

But lawmakers pointed out some NGOs and social groups are bureaucratic and inefficient as they often have links to government, despite their NGO status.

Some are even operating under the name of government departments, said Fang Xin, a member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature.

"We must be cautious these organizations do not become a quasi-government that lacks both capability and credibility in providing public services," he said at a penal discussion during the on-going bimonthly session of the NPC Standing Committee.

Yang Jiang, State Councilor, also general secretary of the State Council, delivered a report on government reform at the session on Wednesday.

The central government plans to cancel or delegate more than 200 administrative approvals this year, he said.

By doing this, the government will endow businesses with more efficient allocation of resources and focus more on supervision and macro-management, he said.

Streamlining administration has provided ample space for social organizations, said Ma Wen, another committee member.

Supervision over social organizations must be stepped up so that they have a better play in supplementing government roles, executing social policies and providing various social services in such fields as sciences and technologies, culture, business cooperation and charity, she said.

Social organizations in China have grown quickly over the past two decades, with the number reaching about 506,700 by June 2013.

Lawmakers also stressed the need to equalize privately funded social programs and public ones, with more preferential tax policies granted to privately funded social organizations especially in the fields of medical services, environmental protection and work safety.