China in full sail with deepening reform

TACKLING "SOFT" PROBLEMS

Apart from boosting "hard power" such as economic and military capacities, the realization of the Chinese Dream also needs the efficient handling of "soft" problems.

In the nation's capital, residents crave the azure blue skies seen during the World War II anniversary parade.

Knowing perfectly well that many existing measures are unsustainable, the leadership is moving toward a longer-term plan.

During a leading group meeting in July, a series of plans on environmental supervision were adopted.

The package includes a better monitoring network, independent auditing of officials and a system to net official whose decisions damage the environment.

At the opening ceremony of the Paris climate summit, President Xi Jinping said China will, on the basis of technological and institutional innovation, adopt new policy measures to improve the industrial mix, build a low-carbon system, develop green buildings and low-carbon transportation and establish a carbon-emission trading market.

In a significant move to balance population growth, the family planning law was amended to allow couples to have two children, ending the one-child policy that had existed for decades.

In the field of culture, the central authorities ushered in a series of measures to help the cultural market.

The measures include a pilot project to reform the management structure of publications and media, an overhaul of existing art awards, and support for local artists.

PARTY MANAGEMENT

According to Xi, comprehensive and strict management of the Party demands all kinds of measures to effectively solve various conflicts and problems within the Party, and Party organizations at all levels must keep a firm hand on personnel management.

Officials having won the trust of the Party and the people should be appointed and promoted. Meanwhile, a new regulation issued last year promised that inept officials would be demoted or dismissed.

Stressing ethical and disciplined Party management, the CPC uses the Party code of conduct, which is stricter than the law, as an unassailable bottom line for Party members' behaviors, and "the key minority" of high-level officials are made the top anti-graft targets.

Entrusted with a crucial role, discipline inspectors found and provided clues to more than half of all major corruption cases handled by the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) since the anti-corruption drive was intensified after the 18th CPC National Congress in late 2012.

The CCDI now has inspection agencies to cover all central Party and government departments.

The CPC has also sent out groups of reform inspectors to make sure that policies and measures are fully implemented.

Inspectors focus on key reform areas such as reform of the residence registration system, judicial aid, pensions, family-planning policies as well land, environment and medical projects.h In order to understand the real situation, inspectors have been to the actual sites, done a lot of research and solicited opinions of the masses.

Feedback from such inspections have provided valuable reference for the CPC Central Committee to push through reform.