By EO Editorial Board

Issue 609, March 04, 2013

News, cover
Translated by Zhu Na

Original article: [Chinese]

To all National People's Congress (NPC) representatives who are about to enter The Great Hall of the People for the annual “Two Sessions,” over the next few days you will consider the 2013 budget report and cast an important vote on it.

Your vote will decide how the budget report gets passed - whether it’s to spend more money on people's livelihood or on government investment. You will decide how the government spends every penny. This money comes from the hard work of every citizen.

The central government is working on combating waste throughout the country, and the public’s expectations for anti-corruption work have never been higher. Taking good care of the government’s pocketbook is extremely important in achieving this goal.

We know you’ll earnestly exercise your duty. You come from various cities and villages around the country and you are from very diverse industries and fields. You know the country’s basic situation and understand the people’s most pressing needs. However, we still want to point out that each and every one of you is a crucial deciding vote. So when you cast this vote, this is what we hope you’ll bear in mind…

This country’s people don’t have it easy. Over the past few years, government fiscal revenue has been increasing at more than twice the rate of economic growth. If we’re unable to change this reality in the short-term, we hope you’ll at least be able to carefully manage the government’s finances and make sure every penny we hand in ends up in the right place.

We expect you to have patience and take time to understand the budget. Learn about where the government’s money comes from and where it will be spent. This is not a simple and casual task. Like us common people, you aren’t able to learn everything related to the budget in advance. The data included in the budget report isn’t very easily understood by most people, and don’t expect anyone to take the initiative to explain it.

We common people can’t see the complete budget issued at the NPC. The finance minister’s speech at the congress should give the general idea, but we still hope to get a clearer understanding.

This is where you NPC delegates can ask more for us. We understand that not all representatives can be budget experts, but we still have the right to ask government officials to give an easy-to-understand explanation on each point we want to know more about. Pushing for these explanations is your duty.

Behind you are millions of eyes full of expectations. The vote you cast could quite possibly decide whether or not a patient’s medical costs are affordable; whether an elderly person can get their pension; whether a child in a village school can study in a bright classroom; or whether a disabled person can get by.

We understand that the country has indeed seen many changes in budget transparency. For example, last year Ministry of Finance officials travelled across the country to explain the budget face-to-face to delegates from the NPC and CPPCC (Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference). 

A few years ago, the old practice of government organs keeping a “second budget” (第二预算) off the official books became history. Government funds, land transfer revenue and profits handed in by state-owned enterprises now all have to be included in the budget. 

This year, the social security budget will be submitted to the NPC for the first time. More and more departments and local governments are starting to disclose their budgets, although we know many are still reluctant and even cling to secrecy.

Opening the budget is a difficult process and your persistence is necessary in driving progress. At the last Two Sessions, votes to approve the 2012 budget hit a historic low of 80.1 percent. If taking into consideration the delegates who didn’t vote, it was just a 79.8 percent approval rate.

Perhaps there are many explanations for this rate, but we are certain that as a person controlling a key vote, you understand the importance of the budget. And we are certain you’ll loyally fulfill your duties through this vote and unmistakably pass on the appeals of the people. 

But this still isn’t enough. Although preparation on the budget begins after June each year, we’re still unable to see a clear and comprehensive report. For example, items like government administration expenses and “three public consumptions” (receptions, vehicles and overseas trips) have an aggregate figure in the budget, but there’s no detailed breakdown of exactly how the money was spent. 

To make proper consideration of the budget, we need to get more information and have open discussion about it. We want to see what exactly the government has done to ensure the transparency and consistency of public finances. We want to know that the government is indeed prudent in financial management and doesn’t spend blindly and wastefully.

We can’t let those who manage the country’s finances on our behalf decide expenditures on their own. The practice of officials using public funds for their own private uses is ongoing and it’s directly related to the closed nature of the budget. Of course, it’s important to have supervision and dole out punishment after something like this happens, but it’s more important to set rules and regulations to prevent this from happening in the first place. 

We also hope that big projects can be squeezed more tightly. Indeed, in a market economy, the government can’t be completely passive - some projects need government investment - but that doesn’t mean all projects need the government’s money. The government should give private capital more opportunities. In this way, fiscal funds can be used the way they’re supposed to be.

The ultimate mission of economic development is to let everyone have the opportunity to improve their own life and achieve their dream. We hope to see the government put more financial resources into areas relating to people’s livelihoods. This is what the public wants. In recent years, the government has increased investment in these areas, which is worth encouraging. But among the government’s huge expenditures, the proportion that goes toward livelihoods is still lacking.

We don’t expect all problems to be solved in a day. We’ve already seen many changes. We have enough patience and trust to expect more will come. However, these changes won’t happen on their own. Changes depend on whether or not we have enough respect for our rights and decide to fully exercise them. 

The people’s rights depend on you delegates. When you walk into the Great Hall of the People to cast your all-important vote, please remember the people you represent.