EDITORIAL : THE GLOBAL TIMES, CHINA

West pressuring China like former USSR

The "battle of democracy" is at the heart of the long-term friction between the West and China, which has affected this country and altered certain views about national reform. The West continuously exerts pressure on China, which is a reminder of the former Soviet Union.

In 1938, Mao Zedong first proposed Chinese Marxism, but was opposed by the Soviet-controlled international communist bloc. What does this process mean?  As everyone knows, the Communist Party of China had suffered losses due to the dogmatic following of Marxism. Marxism had to be "sinified" before becoming a guide to the Chinese revolution.

From China's democratic revolution to the early stages of China's socialist establishment, the Soviet Union tried to control China as its offshoot, and it was difficult for the CPC to do away with such control. Despite some extreme consequences, overall, this movement was greatly successful and China is still benefiting from it.

Now the Soviet Union no longer exists, but a huge shadow that seems opposite to the Soviet Union but is actually similar has surrounded us, namely the West. The West is promoting democratic politics in China, not only bringing the concept, but also requiring us to treat "separation of powers" and "one person, one vote" in a similar way as Biblical tenets. China is constantly criticized by Western public opinion while exploring democratic politics.

The concept of democracy has been spreading in China for over a century. The need for democracy has become a community consensus among the Chinese society. The current dispute between the West and China is that the West emphasizes its democratic model as being "universal" and that China should accept it without alteration. However, China will not follow dogmatism and will persist on fixing problems with "Chinese characteristics."

History will judge whether the West's pressure or China's insistence is correct. The reality is that the West only cares about the "democratic" principles without considering China's reality. However, Chinese society should be more cautious before any reform.

Democracy is a part of real life, and it cannot deviate from this. The democracy that Chinese people pursue is a better life. The West asked China to single out democracy and compare itself with Western democratic politics, but this is impossible to achieve. Some countries follow Western requirements, and often fall prey to social unrest.

China is the first country with 1.3 billion people in history, and is in a period of rapid development. It must be wrong if one says that some external model can be set in China. China cannot copy any country. This is the most valuable experience that Chinese people have obtained in the past 100 years of pain and blood.

Reform of public services presents golden opportunity

After more than three decades of reform, China is finally planning to crack one of its toughest nuts – reshaping its 1.26 million or so government-funded public institutions.

Last week, the Chinese government issued blueprints for the reform that will affect more than 40 million staff members and retirees in the public service sectors, such as schools and hospitals, which are the backbone of public service providers nationwide, Xinhua reported.

In modern times, the functions of the government, market and society should be clearly outlined. However, this is not the situation in China at present.

Government-funded institutions are the fruits of a decades-long "body identity system," stemming from the planned economy adopted after the establishment of New China in 1949. At that time, Chinese people were simply classified into three groups: farmers, workers and cadres ranging from low to high levels.

Unbridgeable gaps existed between these three groups.

For a long time, individuals recruited by public institutions usually had a "steel bowl," namely a regular salary and a job there until retirement, regardless of performance.

With the deepening of its reform, China's public service sector faces a widening gap due to the unsatisfactory supply provided by state institutions and an increasing demand for efficiency by the general public.

This reform reflects the government's resolution to address public complaints over a lack of access to public services, such as education and healthcare.
For example, there are now 20 million teachers, accounting for half the staff of government-funded institutions. More than half of local financial budgets at county-levels and above are used in the field of education and for paying teachers.

The general goal of this reform is to set up a system by 2020, under which non-profit institutions will effectively provide public services which the public will enjoy equal access to.

According to the reform plans, China is planning to transform public institutions that perform administrative functions into government agencies, while those conducting for-profit, commercial activities will become full-fledged enterprises, according to the Xinhua report. Those left over after the restructuring will focus on providing public services in a non-profit manner.

In the past, the government used to disperse redundant employees into public jobs whereby many laid-off staff are returned to government departments.
To avoid detours during the reform process, a simultaneous reform should be seen among administrative organs.

In recent decades, China has adopted a reform strategy in both easy and difficult sectors.

The reform of public institutions will be a great chance for the nation to develop a completely new public service system. For this purpose, the full ending of public service institutions may be an ultimate solution.