Making Gov't Clean and Accountable

3. Anti-corruption and clean governance should be carefully carried out.

In the drive against anti-corruption and towards clean governance, the central government has made new strides and set higher standards. Every region and department should act with a greater sense of responsibility and urgency and put all regulation and systems into effect.

(1) More attention should be paid to anti-corruption efforts, which are related to the overall situation of reform and opening up and the socialist modernization process. Preventing and cracking down on corruption in an efficient manner is not only an important method of accomplishing other social goals, it is also what the public expects. Governments and officials at all levels must raise their awareness, combining anti-corruption efforts with business work and system construction. The anti-corruption arrangements and requirements of the central government must be implemented in every specific project. The formulation of laws and regulations, drafting of economic and social development policies and introduction of major reform measures should be in line with anti-corruption policies, focusing on preventing corruption.

(2) The clean governance responsibility system should be put into effect. Departments and governments at all levels should further refine their share of tasks, define their duties and push forward anti-corruption measures. All leaders should take responsibility and leadership, and be shrewd in the allocation, supervision and implementation of work. Leadership team members should also perform their duties to the best of their ability. The system of accountability should be strengthened. Negligence and misdeeds should be punished. Any authority or department which fails to prevent instances of corruption, or fails to effectively prosecute corruption cases should be called to account.

(3) Democratic supervision should be further improved. Only under a broad and effective supervision system can a government be efficient and corruption-free. The government should welcome the democratic supervision of the NPC and the CPPCC. The top-to-bottom governmental supervision, administrative supervision and auditing supervision should be intensified. The government should also be open to supervision of the public and wider society, respecting and protecting the supervision right of the citizens, the legal profession and social organizations. All public opinion and issues reported by the news media should be responded to in a prompt manner; investigation and verification should follow and the feedback must be made public.

The fight against corruption is a tough task. Under the leadership of the CPC central committee with Comrade Hu Jintao as the general secretary, with Deng Xiaoping's Theory, the important thought of the Three Represents and the Scientific Outlook on Development as guidance, the government will promote anti-corruption and clean governance in a more confident, more resolute and more forceful manner.

(Adapted from the speech by Premier Wen Jiabao in the fifth meeting on clean governance of the State Council on March 26)

This post was first published in Chinese and translated by Li Xiaohua.