China-Europe forum suggests closer cooperation between government, community

Officials and scholars participating in the Second China-Europe Senior Forum on Government Management held in Beijing Wednesday suggested that government should cooperate more closely with communities, alter its function and integrate social resources to realize society's harmonious management and development.

Lu Xueyi, professor of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the Chinese government has learned some experience from Europe, to cooperate with social organizations and bring forth new concepts of social management, such as social services and voluntary groups.

However, China should not adopt exactly the same mode of Europe, but to explore a new way on the basis of its own conditions, said Lu.

Tang Tiehan, vice president of China National School of Administration (CNSA), suggested in his report on Tuesday that government should encourage social organizations' full role in providing services and hearing requirements of civic society.

Government should hand over some parts of its public functions to society and establish cooperative partnership with society to deal with public affairs effectively, said Tang.

Tang said government should make its management more open, encourage citizens to participate in social management and give communities high self-rule right.

Neil Kinghan, director general in the office of the deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom, held similar views. He said government can contract some public services with social organizations to carry out a cooperation policy. He suggested local government should work closely with departments of fire fighting, environmental protection and voluntary groups.

"Local strategic partnership (LSP) is needed, much progress has been made on community safety, physical environment, education and employment in my country since LSP was established." Kinghan said, and LSP could also ensure more transparency in government's local services.

More than 200 officials and scholars from China and Europe attended the three-day forum, which began on Tuesday on how to innovate social management.

The forum was co-sponsored by CNSA and the European Institute of Public Administration. The first forum was held in June 2004 in Beijing.

Source: Xinhua