Wen admits governance shortcomings
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Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Friday that some officials are "divorced from reality and the masses," and are "excessively formalistic and bureaucratic."
In his work report to the National People's Congress (NPC), the country's parliament, Wen said some areas are prone to corruption and some officials give too little consideration to carrying out official duties in line with the law.
He said the government's work still "fell considerably short of public expectations."
"The transformation of government functions is incomplete; there is too much government interference in the micro-economy, and public administration and services are relatively weak," Wen said.
Efforts should be made to create conditions for the people to criticize and oversee the government, Wen told nearly 3,000 NPC deputies attending the parliament's annual full session.
"Let the news media fully play their oversight role," Wen said.
He said the government is to ensure the people live a happier life "with more dignity" and to make the society fairer and more harmonious.
He said efforts should be made to focus on transforming government functions, deepening reform of the administrative system and working hard to make the government devoted to service.
Wen said the government will earnestly deal with serious infringements on public interests related to enterprises' conversion to a stockholding system, land expropriation, housing demolition and resident relocation, environmental protection, labor disputes, and legal and litigation issues.
It will also improve handling of public complaints, he said.
Wen stressed strengthening "administrative accountability."
"Anyone who are derelict in their duty, fail to do their jobs or do them irresponsibly will be held fully accountable," he said.
Each region and department must implement the central government's decisions effectively, and they may "never go their own way," he said.
