China unveils high level gov't think-tank

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, April 09, 2004

China unveils high level gov't think-tank

The Counselors' Office of the State Council, a high level think-tank unknown to most Chinese, made a high profile debut to the public Thursday.

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The Counselors' Office of the State Council, a high level think-tank unknown to most Chinese, made a high profile debut to the public Thursday.

The counselors, most of whom are not members of the Communist Party of China, are directly appointed by the Premier. Not representing any political parties, they are responsible for investigating pressing issues in the country and presenting feasible suggestions. They had the privilege to write directly to the premier and vice-premiers of the State Council, said Cui Zhanfu, director of the Office at Thursday's press conference.

The Counselors' Office, which has 35 counselors now, kept a low-key profile in the past and had never held press conferences. The media rarely cover stories about the agency.

The office has done a lot of work to help the government in policy making, said Cui. This is the first time that the Counselors' Office had introduced their work to public.

"We hope the public know more about us and we also try to be more transparent and open in accordance with the government's guidelines," said the office director.

Fifty-five years ago just before the People's Republic of China was set up, the Office was organized at the order of Chairman Mao Zedong.

China has 41 government counselors' offices, one for the State Council, one for the People's Bank and the remaining 39 for local governments, the counselors of which are appointed respectively by the Premier, governors of provinces, chairmen of autonomous regions and mayors of municipalities. Since 1949, the central and local governments have appointed over 4,000 counselors. The counselors have submitted over 5,000 reports and suggestions to the government since 1978.

The on-going rural tax reform was originally proposed by a counselor in East China's Anhui Province. Shanghai Counselors' Office recently submitted a package of suggestions to the State Council on HIV/AIDS prevention, which has attracted attention from Vice Premier Wu Yi.

Counselors are also concerned about environmental issues. Jiang Minglin, vice director of the Office and also a counselor himself, made a proposal about the disposal of waste in a cement factory, helping environmental protection. The Counselors' Office also made contributions to the regulations on disposal of medical waste issued last year during the severe acute respiratory syndrome epidemic.

According counselor recruitment regulations, the number of CPC member counselors should not exceed 10 percent of the total. Most of the counselors are experts in various fields. They participated in state affairs as individuals, which made their suggestions unbiased, said Cui. The tenure for each counselor is five years. They are usually appointed around the age of 60.

Premier Wen Jiabao spoke highly of the counselors' work. Last Mid-Autumn Festival, Wen went to the Counselors' Office and extended greetings to the counselors. He hoped the counselors would continue their role to bridge and unite more compatriots to contribute to the country's modernization drive and reunification cause.

Source: Xinhua

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