8. Improve government functions, strengthen our administrative capacity, and deliver quality government services

The most formidable tasks demand the greatest sense of mission. Faced with the onerous and complex tasks of reform and development, we in governments at all levels should follow the new vision on development in our work, bear the weight of finishing building a moderately prosperous society in all respects on our shoulders, keep the people's wellbeing at the forefront of our minds, and build a law-based, innovative, clean, and service-oriented government that the people are satisfied with.

-- We will ensure that all government duties are performed in accordance with the law and that all government activities are carried out in line with the rule of law.

Governments at all levels and all their employees must take the lead in strictly abiding by the Constitution and other laws and conscientiously apply rule of law thinking and approaches in their work; they must carry out all statutory functions and duties and may not do anything not authorized by law. We will actively promote the legal consultation system for government. We will intensify efforts to make government operations more open by making use of both traditional and new media including the Internet to respond in a timely manner to social concerns and inform the public about what the government is doing and how. We in governments at all levels must, as required by law, subject ourselves to the oversight of the people's congresses at the same levels and their standing committees, and we should willingly subject ourselves to the democratic oversight of CPPCC committees, public oversight, and public opinion-based oversight, so as to exercise power in an open and transparent way.

-- We will ensure that government duties are performed with integrity and intensify efforts to fight corruption.

We will see that leading Party and government officials at all levels assume full responsibility for improving Party conduct and government integrity, and we will severely punish all types of behavior that constitute flagrant violations of discipline. Administrative supervision will be strengthened, and the whole government system will be placed under auditing. Steps will be taken, such as reducing or limiting certain powers and adopting new forms of supervision, to eliminate room for rent-seeking and eradicate the breeding grounds of corruption. We will ensure that efforts to improve Party conduct and government integrity are extended right down to the community level, resolutely correct improper conduct that harms the interests of the general public, and punish corruption without fail.

-- We will ensure that officials perform their duties diligently, that government decisions are fully implemented, and that the government's public credibility is improved.

Government workers must take an active approach to their work, carry out effective planning and decisive implementation, fulfill all their duties, and work tirelessly in service of the public. We will practice the Three Stricts and Three Honests; become more aware of the need to uphold political integrity, keep in mind the bigger picture, follow the CPC as the core of the Chinese leadership, act consistently with CPC Central Committee policy; and improve conduct and competence in order to become a contingent of top-performing public servants with a good command of professional expertise. We will improve and strictly enforce the work responsibility system and fully execute all policies and tasks without fail. We will improve oversight and accountability systems, root out incompetence, inertia, and negligence, and show zero tolerance for those who are on the government payroll but do not perform their duties. We will improve incentive mechanisms and mechanisms to allow for and address mistakes, supporting and motivating those who are committed to carrying out reforms and making innovations. This will help ensure that our officials want to act, are not afraid to act, and are able to act and deliver. The remarkable achievements made in China's reform and opening up over the past 30 plus years are a result of the actions of our people and our officials.

Success belongs to those who share, from top to bottom, in one purpose. We will keep both the central and local governments fully motivated. Localities which work diligently and make notable achievements will receive greater incentives and support in terms of development funds, land designations for new construction projects, and idle budgetary funds made available to them. We will encourage all localities to conduct their work in light of their particular circumstances and create a motivational sense of competition in pursuit of development.

There are several other areas I wish to address.

First, all the people of China are of one family. Helping the people of all our ethnic groups to live together, share in a common cause, and develop in harmony is in the fundamental interests of us all, and is our joint responsibility. We will stick to the Chinese way-the right way-of managing ethnic issues, and uphold and improve the system of regional ethnic autonomy. We will follow closely the Party's policies concerning ethnic groups, launch extensive activities to promote ethnic unity and progress, facilitate the development of a social structure and a community environment in which different ethnic groups are integrated, and promote interaction, communication, and integration between ethnic groups. We will implement differentiated policies in support of the development of areas with concentrations of ethnic minorities, offer assistance through pairing programs, and protect and develop the fine traditional cultures of ethnic minorities and towns and villages rich in ethnic heritage. We will step up support for the development of ethnic groups with smaller populations and boost efforts to promote the development of the border regions to improve the lives of the people there. In short, we will ensure that all the people of China work together for a moderately prosperous society in all respects.

We will fully implement the Party's basic policy on religion, regulate religious affairs in accordance with the law, promote harmonious relations between religions, and see that religious leaders and believers are actively involved in promoting economic and social development.

We will implement our policies on work related to overseas Chinese, and work in accordance with the law to safeguard the lawful rights and interests of overseas Chinese nationals, Chinese nationals who have returned to China from overseas, and the relatives of overseas Chinese nationals who live in China. We will give full expression to their unique strengths and important roles, rally their support, and strengthen the bonds of attachment and affection of all Chinese, whether at home or overseas, to our motherland.

Second, last year saw significant progress in strengthening national defense and the armed forces. This year, in keeping with the Party's goal of building strong armed forces under new conditions, we will boost efforts to build the armed forces through political work and reform, and run them by law. We will work to make the military more revolutionary, modern, and well-structured in every respect, and remain committed to safeguarding national security. We will uphold the fundamental principle and institution of the Party having absolute leadership over the armed forces, and put into practice the guiding principles adopted at the military's meeting on political work held in Gutian, Fujian. We will strengthen in a coordinated way military preparedness on all fronts and for all scenarios, and work meticulously to ensure combat readiness and border, coastal, and air defense control. We will step up the development of logistics and equipment. We will make steady progress in reforming military leadership and command structures, and launch reform of the military's size and structure as well as its policies and institutions. We will ensure law-based development of the armed forces. We will modernize the armed police force. Public awareness about the importance of national defense and national defense mobilization will be strengthened. Closer military-civilian integration will be promoted in important fields, and full consideration will be given to defense needs in the development of important infrastructure. We will develop defense-related science, technology, and industries. Governments at all levels should give full support to strengthening national defense and the armed forces, and we should strive to forge an ever closer bond between the military and the government and between the military and the people in this new era. (more)