Meeting Expectations

Newly established ministries operate efficiently after institutional reshuffling in 2018

Twenty veterans were awarded at an activity titled Most Outstanding Veteran in January for their contributions to the country and society. Among them was Shen Rubo, a veteran from north China’s Hebei Province, who has done more than 100,000 good deeds in his life. The last one was a donation of 500 yuan ($74.8) to a cancer patient before he passed away in June 2018 from esophageal cancer.

The deeds of these model veterans reverberated among the public and the related reports on Weibo, a major social media platform in China, have been read for more than 150 million times. “Pay tribute to outstanding veterans! You are all a bright light that illuminates society,” a user posted.

Calling on people to learn from the spirit of these veterans, the activity was organized by the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, which is one of the new ministries established after an institutional reshuffle in 2018.

Serving veterans

A year has passed since the announcement of the institutional restructuring plan by the State Council on March 17, 2018, during the First Session of the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC), the top legislature of China.

To build a governance system with clear responsibilities under the principle of the law, the reshuffle focused on the transformation and optimization of government functions, including economic regulation, market supervision, public services and environmental protection.

During the process of restructuring, departmental constraints were broken in a bid to meet requirements in the new era, taking advantage of the function of the market and government, further realizing the development of a high quality and modernized economic system, as well as, the satisfaction of the people.

As a result, seven new ministries were established and unveiled by April 16 last year, garnering great attention from the public. In addition, the number of ministerial departments was reduced by eight and that of vice-ministerial entities by seven.

At this year’s sessions of the NPC and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, or the Two Sessions, in Beijing, leaders of these new departments answered questions at the Ministers’ Corridor, outlining the year’s achievements and unveiling the work focus for the coming year.

Sun Shaocheng, Minister of Veterans Affairs, brought good news about a draft law on supporting veterans, expected to be submitted to the NPC for reading in the second half of 2019.

Launched on April 16 last year, the Ministry of Veterans Affairs is working to centralize and unify the management and support system for veterans with clarified power and duties as it aims to protect the legitimate rights and interests of military personnel and their families. At the same time, an improved service and management system of demobilized military personnel will be built to motivate and help them in their civilian life as well as promote military service as an occupation that demands public respect.

A draft legislation, with a total of 11 laws and regulations and 17 policies that concern veteran affairs, began to circulate in related departments at city and county levels in March 2018, and the reviewing of the draft is due to be finished by the end of March.

Currently, a vast veteran service network is under construction, which is aimed to cover every village and community and be tasked with supporting and assisting veterans with employment and businesses, helping retirees and their families in need, surveying and visiting veterans, handling veterans’ complaints and petitions, and safeguarding their rights and interests.

In addition to the acceleration of laws, reform of the resettlement system for veterans will be further strengthened. An improved petition and supervision mechanism will be implemented to protect veterans’ rights and help solve their problems. Through service centers set up at all administrative levels, construction of information technology and the quality of services will be strengthened.

In order to improve the employment competitiveness of veterans, the ministry is working with relevant departments and social forces to provide training programs and entrepreneurship services. On March 19, the ministry signed contracts with 10 banks for preferential policies supporting financing for veterans.

“To help veterans in the new era, extensive support of all of society is needed, with better services jointly offered by forces from different quarters. Thus, a friendly social atmosphere will be created for them,” Sun pointed out.

Expanding medical care

The National Health Commission (NHC) was formed in 2018, and immediately undertook deepening medical reform, including the hierarchical medical system and public hospitals. It is also responsible for formulating national health policies, establishing a national basic medicine