Establishing and completing the institutional guarantee to strengthen social harmony

Fourth Commentary For Studying And Carrying Out The "Decision Of The Central Committee Of The Communist Party Of China On A Few Significant Issues Regarding The Construction Of A Socialist Harmonious Society"

Staff Commentator

Social equality and social justice are the prerequisite for social harmony. In order to reflect equality and justice in practice, administrative systems must be relied on to make necessary arrangements. The "Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on a Few Significant Issues Regarding Construction of a Socialist Harmonious Society" [hereafter referred to as the decision] ratified at the Sixth Plenary Session of the 16th CPC Central Committee highlighted and emphasized the great role of institutional construction and institutional innovation in strengthening social harmony and put forward express requirements and tasks in economy, politics, culture, society and other fields.

Administrative systems are fundamental and long-term factors that influence the overall situation and stability. A complete system of administrative frameworks, mechanisms and administrative systems is the fundamental guarantee for advancing social harmony and realizing social equality and justice. In general, many countries have undergone such a process in which society should – together with progress in opening up and development – undergo a period of transformation. An important task to be completed in this period is to set up an institutional platform to guide social development. China is undergoing profound changes in the economic system, social structure, pattern of benefits distribution and ideological concepts. Under this circumstance, it is necessary and urgent to complete the system of administrative frameworks, mechanisms and administrative systems. We should not only regard the current situation as the jump-off point and focus on solving obvious contradictions and problems that are impacting social harmony but should also look into the future, make as many efforts as possible to promote institutional construction and institutional innovation, pay attention to starting with institutional construction, effectively guarantee people's rights and interests in politics, economy, culture and society and guide citizens to exercise their rights and fulfill their obligations in accordance with the law.

The decision expressly put forward a requirement that includes the following six points: 1) completing the institutional guarantee for democratic rights and reinforcing the political position of the people as the master of the country; 2) completing the laws and administrative systems and reinforcing the foundation for rule of law on which social harmony is achieved; 3) completing the judicial administrative framework and mechanisms and strengthening the judicial guarantee for social harmony; 4) completing the public financial system and gradually equalizing public services on a general basis; 5) completing the system of income distribution and regulating the order of income distribution; and 6) completing the social security system and guaranteeing the masses with subsistence. These six points as a whole constitute an institutional guarantee for advancing social harmony and this six-point requirement is the task and the goal we should reach by accelerating development in the next period.

In the final analysis, reform should be deepened to satisfactorily carry out this requirement and task. In accordance with the need to construct a socialist harmonious society and in accordance with the requirement imposed by social development, we should continue to accelerate the reform and innovation of the economic system, the political system and the cultural system. We should particularly seize the opportunity to accelerate the reform and innovation of the social administrative framework and endeavor to make new progress in guaranteeing people's rights and interests, strengthening harmony in economy and society, tightening government's function of social management and public services, advancing community construction, completing social organizations, perfecting the mechanism for handling internal contradictions among the people and heightening the law and order. We should consistently regard satisfactorily realizing, safeguarding and developing the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the people as the starting point and the end result of reform and should accelerate construction of administrative systems that play a great role in guaranteeing social equality and justice.

Deepening reform and establishing and completing an institutional guarantee to advance social harmony is an urgent and significant task and is a new project of the times. Party committees and local governments at all levels should focus on this measure with strategic influences, should innovate, develop and advance reform, should pay attention to giving considerations to the interests and concerns of all sectors, should make reform-oriented decisions in a scientific manner and should make reform-oriented measures for a harmonious society so as to make all reforms more fruitful. All related departments should accelerate measures to study tasks put forward in the decision, work out plans and provide the basis on which the central authorities make decisions. Local governments at all levels should regard their own realties as the starting point and enhance institutional construction in a more enthusiastic and self-motivated manner so as to ensure that the broad masses of the people effectively experience the equality in sharing achievements of development and effectively experience the advantages of the socialist harmonious society.

by reporter staff commentator