A new guideline on modernizing China's rural governance has highlighted the role of stronger leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and vigorous primary-level CPC organizations in pooling forces for rural vitalization.
The General Offices of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Sunday published a guideline for enhancing rural governance.
According to the document, China aims to develop an institutional structure and policy system for modern rural governance, with the primary-level CPC organizations playing a leading role, self-governance by villagers further enhanced, consultation systems about village affairs better established and the level of rural governance raised by 2020.
By 2035, the country plans to advance rural public services, governance and public security, and perfect the Party-led rural governance model which combines self-governance, rule of law, and rule of virtue.
"Rural governance is the cornerstone of state governance," Han Jun, vice minister of agriculture and rural affairs, told a news conference regarding the document. "Without effective governance, all-around rural vitalization cannot be achieved."
Acute problems in rural governance must be tackled to consolidate the foundation for the Party's governance in rural areas and meet people's needs for a better life, he said.
The guideline listed 17 main tasks, prioritizing the improvement of systems and mechanisms of rural governance led by village Party organizations. In China, primary-level Party organizations do the groundwork to ensure the Party's lines, principles, policies, decisions, and plans are implemented.
Although the rural Party organizations are strong overall, some are poorly organized and some have seen their leadership role weakened, Han said. "Some rural Party members... failed to play an exemplary role."
New measures were proposed to shore up the weak links. Rural Party organizations will be strengthened by enforcing election oversight mechanism for officials and screening out members with issues such as criminal records.
Besides, rural party organizations will assume a greater role in leading other village organizations, and Party members will be encouraged to enhance their bond with the people and play an exemplary role.
In addition to strengthening CPC leadership, the guideline put forward tasks in honing villagers' ability of self-governance, introducing various consultation mechanisms about village affairs, providing better cultural services for rural residents, ensuring law and order and fighting corruption at the primary level.
"The guideline underscored strengthening the Party's centralized and unified leadership over rural governance as well as improving a combinative governance system of self-governance, rule of law and rule of virtue," Han said.
Authorities will soon unveil lists of pilot and model regions of rural governance. Altogether 100 pilot county-level areas will be chosen to explore replicable practices of enforcing the Party-led combinative system, while 100 towns and 1,000 villages are going to set good examples of rural vitality and order under the strong leadership of Party organizations.
The areas will give an early glimpse of the goals set up in the outline.
