Watchful Eyes

After a pilot program of supervisory system reform in Beijing and the provinces of Zhejiang and Shanxi, a supervision system with greater scope and checks and balances will roll out nationwide

On October 18, 2017, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced during the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China that the pilot program of supervisory system reform in Beijing municipality and the provinces of Shanxi and Zhejiang would be expanded nationwide.

In just three months, a three-level supervisory system at provincial, city and county levels has been established in 31 provinces, special economic zones and municipalities. Heads of supervision commissions at all provincial levels have assumed their posts after being selected by their respective provincial people's congresses.

“A national supervision law will be formulated. Supervisory commissions will be given responsibilities, powers and means of investigation in accordance with the law,” Xi said.

During the first session of the 13th National People's Congress on March 20, the National Supervision Law was adopted through a vote after three readings. Yang Xiaodu was elected head of the national supervisory commission that oversees local commissions at provincial, city and county levels.

Extended Scope

Supervision reform has been conducted to address growing antigraft challenges, fragmented supervision authorities and weak connections between administrative and judicial agencies. The national supervision commission will be independent from other government agencies, which will oversee all people exercising public power.

On January 18, 2017, Ren Jianhua was elected director of Shanxi provincial supervision commission, becoming the first head of China's supervisory bodies at the provincial level. Two days later, heads of supervision commissions in Beijing and Zhejiang Province also assumed office.

According to the draft national supervision law, supervision commissions will incorporate the existing graft-busting authorities, including supervision, discipline and corruption prevention and control agencies within the governments and prosecutorial bodies at different levels.

Under the general reform guidelines, the supervision bodies will oversee all staff that hold public office or exercise public power within six corresponding administration sectors, including civil servants of Party and government organs, managerial personnel in State-owned enterprises (SOES), State-run educational, scientific research, culture, medical, health and sports institutions, and those who provide public service as authorized by laws or regulations.

Official statistics show that since the reform, the number of people under supervision rose from 210,000 to nearly one million in Beijing, from 785,000 to 1.32 million in Shanxi, and from 383,000 to more than 700,000 in Zhejiang.

The three areas under the pilot program were encouraged to make experiments based on their own circumstances in order to accumulate experience for national application. These three regions have extended the supervision scope in line with their own conditions.

On August 8, 2017, Tang Guohua, an official at the parking service center of Xiacheng District in the city of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, was detained. According to the draft supervision law, Tang was immune from supervision because he did not belong to any administrative sectors under supervision. He was dispatched to work for the parking service center and exercised public power on behalf of another government agency. The supervision commission in Zhejiang, however, added staff of this category to their jurisdiction.

Tang was found to have colluded with Meng Desong, the director of the parking service center, in embezzling State assets of 1.3 million yuan (US$205,000) and of illegally accepting bribes of 460,000 yuan (US$73,000). On September 29, the two were transferred to local prosecutors.

On December 12, 2017, the Discipline Inspection Commission of Shanxi Province released a regulation calling to systematically distinguish who should be supervised and also keep an eye on “key minorities” (people who hold minor positions but play an important role in a company, agency or institution).

Niu Xiaoming, a senior official from the provincial disciplinary inspection agency, argued that apart from management staff at SOES, employees who hold key positions including accountants, cashiers, inventory keepers and those who are responsible for the reviewing of contracts, bidding, or quality control should also be put under supervision. “If management staff at SOES have been automatically