The plural social governance and system construction in China

Network of Asia-Pacific Schools and Institutes of Public Administration and Governance (NAPSIPAG) Annual Conference 2005 BEIJING, PRC, 5-7 DECEMBER 2005 THEME: THE ROLE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION IN BUILDING A HARMONIOUS SOCIETY The Role of Public Administration in Building a Harmonious Society. The plural social governance and system construction in China Sun She Baixia Road 257, Nanjing Jiangsu province

Thesis Presented to Annual Conference of Asia-Pacific Administration College League for 2005 The plural social governance and system construction in China ( The department of science and culture, the administration college of Nanjing, associate professor, Sun She) Abstract: The fundamental reflection of civilized governance of modern society is to standardize various governmental and non-governmental political behaviors to form plural social governance systematic arrangement through systematic ways. Among these, market system (private field), democratic system (governmental politics field), autonomous systems (non-governmental politics field) and social security system are the most important contents of modern social governance. The modernization process of China is continuously altering our current organizational motivating system and pattern of controlling and administrating. The mechanism of participating, consultation and cooperation of subjects of plural social administration is beginning to establish, which is dominated by the government, and the main means of governance is changing from political to legal. The improvement is based on the existing historical foundation and shows the specific historical regulations of current period in China. Under the influence of the development of market economy and the specific political system, China s governance to the market, the society and the government will follow respective ways of governing people, governing politic and governing Party. Constructions of governance system in different areas consist mainly of the following: Perfecting party system, enhancing the construction of the party administration ability and realizing governance by law; building modern governmental governance system to realize government by law, and improve the administrating and coordinating ability of the government; perfecting the system of villagers autonomy in the rural and habitant autonomy in the urban and developing grass-roots democratic politics and governance; strengthening market regulations, developing intermediary organizations and providing essential social capital for resolving private and public problems; building frame of social responsibility and network of social governance and perfecting the system of compound governance. Key words: the feature of governance; the conditions of realization; developmental ways; institutional construction The basic condition and main feature of the plural social governance idea 1. The governance thought is a result caused by market economy and constitutional government construction. The governance theory has been raised in the late of 1980, whose ideas was brought forward by the Word Bank in its report, " South Sahara in Africa: Moving towards sustainable development from crisis,"(word Bank,1989)and which take it as core concept and reason for analyzing and explaining local economy success.[1] In 1990s, the governance theory taken as a popular concept in the social sciences domain has been widely used, whose connotation is broad and elasticity.

The governance theory have been use to illustrate what's what in different nation, different social history culture background, different social system, even different social sciences research territory [2] Therefore, we need to discuss the historical condition of governance theory, promulgate its general rule and avoid irrelevantly applying mechanically the governance concept to stiffly analyze national conditions. Historically, the governance thought as a modern manage theory has based on development of market economy and constitutional government construction. First, the market economy development is social practical foundation which the governance theory produces. The market body may exercise their own right according to law and make decision autonomy because they are free, which needs to limit the boundary of governmental authority and change the public power condition exercised monopolistically by government in traditional society, in order to guarantee right and freedom of market subject. At the same time, condition that the different social member grasp and use resource in market economy differ greatly, the society therefore can decompose into many interests groups,which represent plural trend. It needs a corresponding coordination management mechanism to respectively communicate, understand and govern among different social strata. In the case, society governance by merely rationality and unitary power of government do not accommodate to society development. Next, the development of constitutional government provided thought resources for the governance theory. The fundamental value in pursing constitutional government lies in carving up and limiting political power to protect people's liberty. The governance theory respects pluralism of society interests and emphasizes social power pluralism, stresses on soluting public interests as well as public principle formation and recognitive issue through the way of dialogue, communication, negotiation and transaction to promote social harmonious development. The content and characteristic contained by the government theory, as well as the measure adapted in process of governance have manifested constitutional government spirits of democracy, equality and restricting political power and so on. 2. The general implication and basic characteristic of governance. The governance thought as a kind of modern society manage theory is a result reflecting relation among the state the society and the market. The state and government are been view as focus by politics and public administration, which pay attention to using way and effective of political power. However, other social discipline concentrate on opening out the governance implication by dynamic analysis of nation, society and market, whose connotation was expensively abroad. The governance as a theory and social manage process represents plural characteristic of modern social governance comparing to traditional social manage pattern. Firstly, the pluralistic society is premise on social governance. The body participate social governance and the process of social governance are all different from traditional social management. On the one hand, the plural social subjects have been transform sole governmental center into poly-centre. Now, not only government but also social non-profit organization, market organization and civil society undertake social management; On the other hand, the progress of plural social governance is a plural-interaction process and bases on the mechanism of coordinating and participating.the modern society is the poly-central society whose power and benefit gradually were split up, the government want to gain citizen's support replacing centralization with service,and members of different social classes participate and recognize social governance through effective consultation and participation mechanism.[3]

Secondly, the plural social governance concentrates on unification of goal and method, which pursues person's value in social governance. The plural social governance emphasizes management efficiency and even more lays stress upon social fair, emphasizes respectively social public responsibility, ultimate ends of comprehensive realization person's value. Therefore, it have emphasized cooperation and standing out public responsibility in management method; emphasized on ultimately realizing person's value in management end, paid attention to value request of all respects. Thus, we will realize social harmony and social order by legal system and autonomy, government management and self-management. Thirdly, the social governance has adopted a compound method and formed the governance network covering entire society. The government is only a provider of social public products and services in traditional government pattern. People may gain corresponding social public products and public services through many channels in plural social governance, Among of which includes not only governmental provider through administrative method or market mechanism but also provider of market organization and non-profit organization by using method of market or society mobilization. [4] The actual conditions and developmental ways of plural governance in our country. 1.The actual condition and characteristic of plural social governance in China. The practice of our plural social governance gradually develops along with Chinese modernization development and plural social formation. On the one hand, the three dimensional interaction patters of government, society and market has been gradually formed when our market economic system had been basically established and the market had paid fundamental role in distribution (allocation) of social resources. On the other hand, democratic politics unceasingly has developed and constitutional government construction progress has been remarkable. Currently, the ruling party must strengthen administration ability construction and realize administration democratically, administration scientifically, administration legally; pay attention to social fair and construct harmonious society. These have indicated that the understanding of Chinese modernization construction rule was more thorough, the practice was even more self-conscious, we is practicing on plural social governance by our own way and presenting our own characteristic of modernization advancement. First, our society differentiation has intensified and the plural societies have already been formed. At the same time, our economical development has entered into a new high speed growth time, which has simultaneously intensified society's differentiation and reorganization. On the one hand, the market economy development had disintegrated the way of allocation and possession of resource in original planned system,and had again readjusted the economical status of various social strata in society which had caused some new divisions of labor, social occupations and social strata; On the other hand, the process of industrialization and urbanization had greatly speed up, which had fundamentally change traditional rural society and profoundly touched floor society whose population was majority, and sped up the social strata differentiation. Second, the economical fast growth caused all kinds of social contradictory outstanding. Presently, our society has entered a gold growth period, simultaneously also was a contradiction outstand time. On the one hand, the economical development needs to take a lot of resources, the extensive growth way has intensified the resources consumption and the environmental

pollution, and has caused survival environment worse and unsustainable development; On the other hand, the process of modernization is also the process that various social groups unceasingly adjust interests. The social reciprocal benefit mechanism of market trend is expiring, but a new mechanism coordinated has not perfected. The gap of between the poor and the rich has being expanded on account of each social strata and groups did not fairly enjoy achievement of reform and opening. The unfair of society has appeared hindering society's harmonious development. Third, the way that government manages society is being improved, but the coordination and consultative mechanism of society governance has not still perfected. On the one hand, the management pattern of government center has change in a certain degree, more and more social management and public products have been provided by the non-government organizations, the market mechanism has paid the major role. On the other hand, the society taking as a governance facet whose function is fairly weak. There were not a effective self-organization and the selfmanagement between the social strata and benefit groups, even need other strata or groups have been on behalf on our own benefits. The network frame need by plural society governance has not been established because there have been short of normal effective communicational channel between social strata and benefit groups. Fourth, the basis of social governance has been still cultivating in course of political civilization construction. Our political civilization trend has conformed to the moderation tendency, the spirit of constitutional government has been embodied in the more and more social life domain in recent 10 years, which provided the condition for realizing government idea in China. But the relations between public power and private power has not always embodied correctly and reflected request of constitutional government. The citizen's equal spirit and the consciousness of undertaking social responsibility have still been not full; there have been misunderstanding and barrier among the different bodies. The growth of social intermediary organization and the democracy autonomy of social primary-level organization have all been dominated by national authority. All kinds of social body of non-government have universally lacked self-discipline, autonomy and the mechanism that undertaking social responsibility; But main pattern and link of management still needs to be molded and perfected. Fifth, we established the developmental goal of constructing harmonious society and positively explored the realization form of governance. The fourth session of the 16th central commitment of Communist Party of China put forward the mission of constructing a harmonious society., and emphasized the harmonious society from each according to his ability and each according to his work is a social basis on consolidating party administration.the socialism harmonious society we will construct should be a society that is democracy,legal system, fairness, justice, credibility,affection, throb, stability, order and harmonious co-existence between man and nature. The six basic characteristics include both society relational harmony and harmonious relation between man and nature, which takes on unification of democracy and law, fair and efficiency, vigor and order,science and humanity, man and natural. We need to put the maintenance social fair to an more prominent position to realize these six unifications, we should legally gradually establish social security system whose main contents are right fair, opportunity fair,rule fair,distribution fair by many methods[5]. 2. China's political governance will gradually expand along with three lines of governing people, governing politics and governing party.

In fact, our social political governance has developed along social autonomy and government under the rule of law owing to self-consciousness of developing market economy since we have reformed and opened. The society autonomy may be regarded as governing people. However, we will gradually hand back power to people and realize social freedom and individual liberty along with the government delegating power to the lower levels, economic reform of opening and stimulating. At the same time, villagers autonomy and urban community construction is just the most main achievements. The political development of non- government system mainly presents growth of civil society, strength of sense of citizen politics responsibility as well as enhancement of ability of participate in deliberating and administration of state affairs. This political process at first developed in name of establishing the market economic system and developing socialism market economy However, it now further hands back power to people and tries to explore a active social governance pattern as the content of constructing harmonious society. The government under the rule of law may be regarded as governing official, namely governmental governance. The process is consistent with the path of economical reform. At the beginning of reform, the government has gradually delegated power to the lower levels and automatically contracted power scope, altered management way and gradually gave up business that should been managed by the individual and the society so as to set aside more room for society autonomy and individual free development; Our government started to implement the personnel system reform, standardize government, restricted government power and reformed government since 1990. China has formulated a series of legal standardized government power, standardized government administration procedure and diligently explored a government mode adapted for modern development along with China join the World Trade Organization and further advancement of reform since 2000. After a long-term endeavor, our historical track of governance walked along governing people and governing official. Accompanying with this process, the Chinese Communist Party's own construction and reform also had became a important aspect of social political reform and political development in China. The construction of the party in power was view as a core and key of entire social political civilization development. The CCP consciously summarized functions that the party in power in state governance, and mastered effect of administration way to social governance, which successively experienced some cognitive stages of separating the functions of the Party from that of the government, three represents, political civilization, strength administration ability of CCP and democracy within the party. These reflected all sorts of endeavors that the party in power standardized her own power and behavior, scientifically interpreted the relations of the party in power, nation and society and perfected party's own construction. The interaction experience of between politics and society above indicates that the end of reform lies in realizing transform and reforming of governance pattern for 20 years in China, which all in all walks along safeguarding private power and restricting public power, it embodies three routes of governing people, governing politics and governing party that could regarded as the key of reading Chinese real political civilization. [6] The multi-construction of plural social governance system in China. 1. We will perfect party system, enhance administration ability of the party in power and

construct modern political civilization. The leadership and administration of CCP have decided on political condition in China. We first need to strengthen the construction of the party and enhance administration ability to realize social modern governance. The CCP has paid attention to her own democracy construction and scientific administration way in recent years, which has significantly affected on the progress of social governance. First, administration of the CCP by lying remises on perfecting party system and standardizing relation and behavior of CCP. At present, the party system of CCP had been expressed in the constitution preface, constitution of National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), party constitution of the CCP, but its stipulations is either too simple or lacking of restricting forces of law. Second, we will enhance administrational ability of CCP by utilizing lay. In recent years, the party leads the people to formulate the constitution and the law, which vote attention to full presenting and representing people's benefit and wish, realize the uniformity of party's leader and people mastering own affairs; The Central Committee of Chinese Communist party had put forward to abiding by and exercising constitution and lay. Third, we will advance democracy construction of the party and realize exercising power by law within party. The CCP in the report of the 16th National Congress had pointed out that democracy within the party is party's life, which had an important demonstration and impetus function to people constructing country. Consequently, a lot of business having been done,which includes perfecting guarantee system of party member right and expanding democracy scope within party, improving election system within party and exercising permanent system of the party member representative assembly, the selection and assignment of cadre, Party commission's establishment and leadership system of the party, and so on. [7] 2. we will construct government under the rule of law and enhance the ability of governmental management and coordination. The modern public management requests that government exercises good self- management in order to prevent public power from public evil; and realizes the government to the social business management in right place and guarantees the social business fair and order. Therefore, we must construct a government under law and enhance the ability of governmental management and coordination. Firstly, we will construct a government under the rule of law before we must make clear what government should do. The important responsibility of economical and social development should be undertaken by government, market organization, civil society together instead of government. Secondly, on basic of making clear the government responsibility, we must standardize Power of government policy-making and carrying out policy, standardize government administration procedure and restrict government abusing authority. Finally, we should establish government's supervision mechanism; keep the public informed of government's decision and the administration under the rule of law so as to set up relief way to safeguarding the civil rights. We must transform government function to enhance ability of management and coordination of government. On the one hand, the government function was to build market environment and service for market body instead of participating in economic activities. On the other hand, government must provide public products such social security, basic farewell, education, medical health, public accommodation, disaster prevention and suddenly emergency

processing and so on. 3. we should perfect the autonomy institution of the villagers and the inhabitant,develop democracy politics at the grassroots level and governance. A variety of autonomy institutions including non-government politics domain are important system arrangement which do not exist in government institution but in the market system. Our autonomy institution mainly is democratic politics at the grassroots level that gradually has been established since reform and opening. But the realization degree of autonomy still need to enhance because it is under national authority and easy to manage by government. Among them, the villages more and more attachs importance to village autonomy because it is closely linked with the village survival benefit. At present, democratic management, democratic policy-deciding and democracy surveillance system in villagers committee is gradually perfecting and the autonomous substantive content is increasing which become our foundational resources of developing democratic politics. At the same time, it offers a effective form to realize plural social democratic governance. The autonomy function of the urban residents' committee directly undertakes management by govern; its autonomous realization degree is far inferior to that of the village. At present, the primary-level societies in the urban and the rural have greatly changed, and need to innovate and develop democratic autonomic institution at the grassroots level to boost social governance ability and level of grassroots level. 4.We should perfect market regime and develop intermediary organizes. One of the premises of plural social governance is differentiating the public territory and the private territory and governs respectively. Therefore, we need to subdivide social business, turn over private domain to make it free and autonomous territory. The civil society made up of many autonomous organizations and non-profit institutions (the third sector) supplies essential social capital to deal with private and public problem basing on credibility and cooperation. The market economic subject's activity involves the aspects of society life and the social service also is extremely widespread, including enterprising tutorship, raising and financing fund, exploring market, technical support, certification and recognition, information service, management and consultation, and talented person training and so on. At present, the minority of social services above only undertake by the intermediary organization, the others are provided by the government and lacks standard effective service. The social service must be undertook by social organizations or social institutions and simultaneously also can not leave government's support, which is especially so in our country at present. Therefore, we need to analyze how transfer the services that were provided by government to undertake by social intermediary organizations or institutions, and seek after way and method that government exercise. At the same time, we also must study how the government support the construction of intermediary organization or institution and design co-relational policies and support way,and deal with the relations of between government and society,government and market. On the one hand, the government had assumed all social business for long time so that the social intermediary organization and its function is seriously insufficient, now the massive social services still are controlled by government. Therefore, while the government utilizes its own authority to support social intermediary organizations, it also should transform its function, which hand over corresponding services to social intermediary organizations. However, we must prevent the intermediary organizations from slowly substituting the government on account of excessive strength of authority in the switching

process. On the other hand, we must develop intermediary service organizations in the principles of socialization, specialization and market when the government enlarges the support to social service institution in order to avoid that the intermediary services are done by administration and to build the second government by intermediary organizations and institutions. Meantime, when we develop all sorts of self-discipline organization such as profession association and chamber of commerce, we also pay attention to constructing all kinds of institutions standardizing intermediary institutions, and establish and develop widespread society public responsibility mechanism. 5. We will perfect social security system and establish society compound governance mechanism. We must provide perfect social security mechanism to protect disadvantaged groups in civilization society. At present, the social security system consisting of government, social organization and citizen has been more and more devoted attention by disadvantaged groups along with our country economy s growth, and social governance even more stresses on fair and harmony. The modern society is plural system whose power and interests are gradually decomposed. The power subject, power level, power type and power realization way of social governance have been plural and shaped into a governance network. A sort of development of governance way in the construction of our country compound governance system is not parallel and unification. The government's statues and function is decisive among them so that the governance of non- government private sectors and so-called third sectors are decided by government's behavior. Presently, we must firstly full make use of system resource existing and design Chinese characteristic plural social governance pattern on the basis of national conditions in the course of reforming social governance pattern dominated over government and establish compound plural social governance. Next, we should establish and develop widespread society public responsibility mechanism. On the one hand, the government needs to support and advance autonomy within non- government field to build up coordinate relations between government and citizen, government and market. Simultaneously, the government cannot substitute the autonomy of non- government filed by own management. On the other hand, the government must lead society to establish public responsibility idea, and cultivate modern citizen views that contain the consciousness of right, the consciousness of competition and cooperation, the consciousness of participation, the consciousness of responsibility and the valid and legitimacy of system in social compound governance pattern formed by customs, religion, morals, law and policy and so on. Lastly, we will transform governance by policy into governance by law in governance method, and upbuild a suitable consultation and participation mechanism to safeguard various social governance subjects interests expression, which bring social interests expression and exchange into a legitimate and controlled channel so as to guarantee scientific nature and fair nature of public policy. NOTES: [1]. Yang Xuedong, system foundation of governance, Chinese government innovation network. Governance and good governance column in the thesis bank of research center. [2]. Clicking on " the governance " on Google, having 1,080,000 items conforming to request,

covering aspects of company, nation and society. [3]. Sun Xiaoli, the harmonious society construction under plural social govrnanace, quoted from study Times(Beijing), the 274th issue,on February 28th, 2005. [4].Sun Xiaoli, the changes of social governance pattern, quoted from study Times(Beijing). the 288th issue, on June 6th, 2005. [5]. Zeng Qinghong,On domestic situation and construction socialism harmonious society, quoted from study Times(Beijing), the 275th issue, on March7th, 2005. [6].Yan Jirong, examining Chinese politics development under govrenance idea,quoted from study Times(Beijing),the 272nd issue, on February 14th, 2005. 7) Sun She, perfecting system design: perfecting party's representative assembly permanent system, quoted from introduction to party constructs, the 12th issue,2003.