China deepens reform on judicial, social systems

China has achieved all-round progress in deepening reform in its judicial and social systems since the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), which was held in 2013.

[File photo: VCG]

Zhang Jun, procurator-general of the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP), announced on Thursday that the SPP will form 10 new procuratorial departments and implement a new mechanism to allow the same department to handle both the arrest and prosecution processes of criminal cases.

"The old mechanism lowers efficiency because one department handles the arrest process and the other department has to learn about the case all over again when it handles the prosecution process," Zhang said at a press conference organized by the Information Office of the State Council.

Over 90,000 procurators and 120,000 judges have been re-elected under the judicial reform aimed at improving their professional competence. They will take on lifelong responsibilities for specific cases in an effort to boost their enthusiasm and sense of responsibility.

Previously, China's judicial selection and management system was based on the public servant management system, which did not suit the profession well.

Citizens can now establish legal cases by simply getting registered instead of going through inspections. Currently, over 95 percent of the cases are registered and established on site.

In May 2018, the Legal Services of China website started operation, collecting data from over 380,000 legal service institutions and 1.39 million professionals nationwide. It selected 475 institutions and 925 professionals to form a counseling team to serve the public.

"These unprecedented reforms and changes stemmed from the Party's people-centered governance philosophy to make the people actually feel equality and justice," said Xu Hanming, a professor with Zhongnan University of Economics and Law.

On Sept. 1, 2018, the Ministry of Public Security rolled out 20 reform measures to streamline traffic management. The measures included information sharing and online settlement of claims of accidents.

The country also issued documents on reforming the registered permanent residence system and loosening restrictions on rural residents settling in urban areas.

Major universities have also raised their ratio of recruited students from rural families. Over 90 percent of handicapped children now have access to education resources.

As of the end of 2017, the number of cities with hierarchical medical systems had increased to 321 and average life expectancy rose to 76.7.

The supply of elderly care continues to grow. By September 2018, 29,300 institutions across the country offered elderly care with more than seven million beds.