■Li Zuojun Tian Huimin
The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposed to improve the social governance system, improve the social governance system of co-construction, co-governance and sharing, and improve the efficiency of social governance, which put forward the basic direction for promoting the modernization of social governance. The 2024 Government Work Report proposes to effectively protect and improve people's livelihood, strengthen and innovate social governance, improve the social governance system, and make specific arrangements for improving the social governance system. Social governance is the activity of coordinating social relations and handling social affairs in an institutional or non-institutional way in order to maximize social and public interests, which is a major task of social construction and an important part of national governance. The social governance system is a system in which the government, social organizations, enterprises and institutions, individual citizens and other parties participate, work together, and assume their own responsibilities to jointly promote social stability and order, fairness and justice, and people live and work in peace and contentment. Improving the social governance system is the only way to further promote the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity, and it is also a key measure to continuously transform the advantages of the mainland's system into the efficiency of national governance. To improve the social governance system, it is necessary to stand at the strategic height of promoting the modernization of the national security system and capabilities, improve the efficiency of social governance, and consolidate the cornerstone of "China's governance" with the modernization of social governance.
1. Strengthen institutional safeguards and form a joint force for social governance
The key to building a social governance system in which everyone is responsible, responsible, and enjoyed by all, and strengthening institutional safeguards is the key. The joint force of all entities of social governance can be enhanced through the establishment and improvement of a social governance system of co-construction, co-governance and sharing. To this end, it is necessary to improve the leadership system of party committees, improve the system of government responsibility, establish a mechanism for mass promotion responsibility, improve the coordination system of social organizations, and build a system for the participation of the people.
First, improve the leadership system of party committees. The leadership of party committees is the core and key to social governance. Party committees at all levels should give play to their role as the core of leadership in controlling the overall situation and coordinating all parties, implement the party's line, principles, and policies in all aspects of social governance, and ensure the correct direction of social governance work. Second, improve the system of government responsibility. Government responsibility is an important support for social governance. As the main force in social governance, the government should shoulder the responsibility of ensuring the people's basic livelihood and providing public services. Highlight the prevention and control of five types of risks and hidden dangers: political security, social security, contradictions and disputes, public security, and network security. Third, establish a group booster responsibility mechanism. Transfer social management service functions suitable for mass organizations to be exercised by mass organizations in accordance with legally-prescribed procedures. Identify the focus of mass group boosting, guide mass organizations to focus on the areas that the masses are anxious about, what the party and government need, and what the masses can do, so as to promote social governance to achieve practical results. Fourth, improve the coordination system of social organizations. Complete mechanisms for cultivating and supporting social organizations, focusing on supporting the development of social organizations such as for public security and stability maintenance, professional mediation, public interest and charity, and residents' mutual assistance. Expand the orderly participation of social organizations, ensuring that social organizations carry out operational activities in accordance with the Party's line, principles, policies, and decision-making arrangements. Strengthen the standardized management of social organizations, promoting their continuous improvement of service performance and social credibility. Fifth, we need to build a system for the participation of the people. Clear institutional channels for the masses to participate in social governance, and protect the public's rights to know, participate, express and supervise. Improve the guidance mechanism for mass participation, innovate and improve the mass work mechanism, promote the normalization of listening to the voices of the people, investigating the people's feelings, and solving people's worries, so that municipal social governance is deeply rooted in the people.
II. Advance governance in accordance with the law and consolidate the cornerstone of social governance
The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposed to promote multi-level and multi-field governance in accordance with the law, and improve the level of rule of law in social governance. In the general environment of governing the country according to law, the spirit of the rule of law is the spiritual support of social governance, the rule of law rules are an important cornerstone of social governance, and the rule of law order is the fundamental guarantee of social governance. Multiple measures should be taken at the same time to ensure the "last mile" of social governance with the rule of law, continuously improve the satisfaction of the masses and social credibility, improve the rule of law guarantee in all aspects of the social governance system, form a governance state of overall coordination, high quality, efficiency, and benign operation, and continuously consolidate the foundation of social governance.
First, strengthen the overall deployment of the rule of law in social governance. Do a good job of medium- and long-term planning and phased work deployment, complete long-term mechanisms for carrying out social governance work in accordance with the law, and continuously improve the capacity for public security prevention and control and basic governance in the areas of people's livelihood in accordance with the law. Second, build a strong social governance leadership system, a complete social governance institutional system, an efficient social governance operation system, a strict social governance supervision system, and an objective social governance evaluation system in accordance with the law. Third, strengthen the concept of the rule of law and improve the normative system. Establish the rule of law concept of "the supremacy of the Constitution and the law, and equality before the law" in the whole society, so that the rule of law becomes a social consensus and the belief of the whole people. Strengthen publicity and education on the rule of law, increasing the public's awareness of the rule of law and legal literacy. Strengthen the establishment of social system norms and moral norms for social governance, strive to increase democratic participation and transparency in the process of regulation, and strengthen the public opinion foundation for social governance norms. Fourth, it is necessary to effectively resolve contradictions in accordance with the law and enhance the sense of social security. Use rule of law thinking and rule of law methods to smooth and standardize channels for the expression of the public's demands, coordination of interests, and protection of rights and interests, and strengthen contradiction investigation and risk assessment. Promote all types of social entities to effectively use rule of law thinking and methods to manage and regulate social affairs, bring work in all areas of society into the orbit of the rule of law for effective governance, and advance the process of modernization of social governance in accordance with law. Give full play to the role of people's mediation as the first line of defense, give play to the role of administrative organs as a "diversion valve" for resolving disputes, and at the same time give play to the unique role of lawyers in dispute mediation.
3. Strengthen digital empowerment and enhance the capacity of social governance
The mainland has entered the era of digital economy. Data has become an important productive force and a key factor of production, and is a core strategic resource of the country and an important wealth of society. It is necessary to strengthen the empowerment of social governance through digital transformation and continuously improve the capacity of social governance.
First, accelerate the construction of an integrated government big data system. Rely on the government affairs big data system to promote the reasonable, efficient, and safe aggregation of data, promote the orderly flow of data in accordance with the law, and stimulate the role and utility value of data elements. In the government performance system, a data-driven decision-making mechanism should be formed to enhance data-driven decision-making. Second, build a social governance platform based on "one network" and rely on digital technology to promote social governance empowerment. Move the social risk threshold forward through trajectory tracking, achieve precise governance in emergency response, and achieve precise social governance through digital technology, such as the "whistle blowing in the streets and townships, reporting to the department" implemented in Beijing, the "big data + grid + iron footboard" implemented in Jiangsu, and the "hand-shooting" implemented in Hubei and Fujian. Through digital technology, social governance is systematized and integrated, such as the "one network for all" and "one network for unified management" implemented in Shanghai and other places. Mobilize the people's initiative to participate in social governance through digital technology, such as the "Sunshine Chamber" online platform built by Ningguo City, Anhui Province, which integrates community affairs consultation, social conditions and public opinion reflection, and information communication and exchange. Resolve conflicts at the grassroots level through digital means, such as the "mobile micro-court" established in Ningbo, Zhejiang. Third, use digital technology to improve the level of emergency management. Strengthen the application of digital technology in disaster monitoring and early warning, resource allocation, rescue command, etc., and improve society's ability to respond to emergencies. Through the extensive application of digital technology, the level of modernization of social governance will be comprehensively improved. Fourth, we should look at the pros and cons of digital technology's participation in social governance in an objective and rational manner. Adhere to the equal emphasis on technology application and institutional safeguards, government supervision and platform self-discipline, and social intelligent governance and democratic consultation, and accelerate the digital transformation of social governance on the premise of effectively preventing technological risks.
Fourth, popularize the "Fengqiao experience" and give full play to the role of the grassroots masses
In the early 60s of the 20th century, the cadres and masses of Fengqiao Town, Zhuji County, Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province, created the "Fengqiao Experience" of "mobilizing and relying on the masses, insisting on resolving contradictions on the spot", which became a model of grassroots social governance in China. In-depth excavation and promotion of the "Fengqiao experience" is of great significance for promoting social governance.
First, adhere to the promotion of the "Fengqiao experience" and practice the party's mass line. The cohesion of the masses reflects the ability of leadership. At the level of social governance, it is necessary to correctly handle contradictions among the people, closely rely on the masses, and solve problems at the grassroots level and in the bud. Second, we should continue to promote the "Fengqiao Experience" and create a new situation of diversified and good governance. Construct a pluralistic dispute resolution system, starting from improving the top-level design of the four-level contradiction and dispute resolution mechanism, strengthening the construction of the mediation team, making full use of the people's court's mediation platform, promoting the separation of complicated and simple cases within the court, and carrying out multiple performance evaluations, so as to give full play to the advantages of the pluralistic dispute resolution system, and add impetus to comprehensively advancing the modernization of grassroots social governance and the innovation of comprehensive social governance, and promoting the modernization of the social governance system and governance capacity. Through the improvement of the comprehensive mechanism for the prevention, mediation, and resolution of social contradictions, small contradictions and small problems will be resolved at the grassroots level, and a large number of disputes will be resolved before litigation. Third, adhere to the promotion of the "Fengqiao experience" and organically integrate the "three treatments". The "Fengqiao Experience" is a concentrated embodiment of the organic integration of autonomy, rule of law, and rule by virtue. Adhere to autonomy as the foundation, rule of law as the foundation, and rule of ethics as the first, pay attention to the comprehensive use of autonomy, rule of law, and rule of ethics, through the people's autonomy, legal constraints, and moral concepts, to form a systematic, coordinated, and integrated institutional mechanism, and through top-down government guidance and mobilization of bottom-up social participation, to promote the modernization of grassroots governance.
(Li Zuojun is the director and researcher of the Institute of Public Administration and Human Resources of the Development Research Center of the State Council; Tian Huimin is an associate researcher of the Planning and Research Institute of the China Development Bank)
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Chief Producer丨Wang Hui and Che Haigang
Producer丨Li Piguang, Wang Yu, Liu Weimin
Editor-in-Chief丨Mao Jinghui Editor丨Chen Shuhan