Focus
5,000 liaison offices to be closed - but mostly in name
By WANG CHAO (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-05-17 08:01
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According to schedule of the central government, 5,000 liaison offices in Beijing should be shut down by the end of June.[ Ji Na / for China Daily] |
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The restaurant with the Sichuan liaison office has a good business. Many liaison offices are famous for delicious food from their homes. Photos by Wang jing / china daily |
Despite order to shut down, many offices plan to remain in Beijing
In January, the central government ordered the closure of more than 5,000 county liaison offices in Beijing - with all having to shut by the end of June. This target looks set to be met, but only in name.
"I'm pretty sure that most county-level 'liaison offices' are gone," Li Gang, president of the Beijing Liaison Office News publication, said.
"Most have simply become offices to deal with petitioners from their hometowns."
Lin Feng, a secretary for the Qingdao government, said: "There are other ways for these offices to remain. They can register themselves as companies, since Beijing offices of local enterprises are not on the list to be closed."
The liaison offices were set up in Beijing by provincial, city and county governments to act as a link between their local governments and the authorities of the central government and the Beijing municipal government.
For example, staff members of a county-level liaison office would usually receive visiting leaders, arrange accommodation and apply for projects for their hometown.
Li said there are at least 5,000 county-level offices in Beijing. "Most of them are now not registered, but they are doing the work of a liaison office," said Li, who has been in contact with liaison offices in Beijing for two years.
Under the central government's directive - which cited corruption as one of the reasons - city-level liaison offices would be allowed to remain open if the offices concerned appealed.
"As far as I know, all 17 city-level offices from Shandong will be allowed to stay," an official surnamed Tian, from the Zaozhuang, Shandong, liaison office said.
Tian said the office would have to submit an application, stating its reasons to remain. He said the situation would be the same for other provinces.
During the Two Sessions every year, many locals, known as petitioners, come to Beijing to complain about local government and usually are met by staff from the county-level liaison office.
Ma Shan, director of the liaison office of a county in Yantai, Shandong province, was packing his things in his rented premises when METRO met him.
"Well, if the authorities asked us to go, we have to go. What can we do?" Ma said.
"The office has been here for more than 10 years; it is not easy to wipe it out overnight."
Ma didn't say whether he would return to home or stay in Beijing, "But I do have some unfinished projects here."
As a representative of a small county, Ma has rented a small courtyard house from a Beijinger to use as for office.
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Wu, who expressed his dissatisfaction with the closure decision, has four staff members. Every March when the Two Sessions are in session, they go to railway stations to pick up petitioners.
Rui'an is among the top 21 richest counties in China, and is also the most prosperous region in Zhejiang province.
Wu said it was unfair to simply define them as corrupt. "Every year, we only receive 200,000 yuan from the Rui'an government, which is supposed to cover the utility fees, transportation, stationery and all the other things. It is hardly enough in Beijing." Wu said.
Rui'an owns a building in Bawangfen and Wu is waiting for approval to sell it. The building was bought in 2002. "The value has risen three-fold." Wu said.
However, staff at city-level offices said they would not take over the duties of local county-level offices.
"We are still studying this issue," an official from the liaison office of Yantai told METRO.
"Of course the city-level offices would like to get more power," said Li, "But the county-level offices don't want to invite trouble by getting a boss."
Bian Yufu has just retired from the Beijing liaison office of Shandong. He had been in charge of the office for the past 20 years.
Bian estimates there are 70 county-level liaison offices from Shandong, out of 140 counties. "The 17 municipal-level liaison offices in Shandong are managed by the Beijing government, but the county-level offices have no 'bosses,'" Bian said.
"To make money, these offices rent a small hotel as their offices and then sub-let rooms to earn much more than their salary and business trip subsidy combined." Bian said.
Bian said most of them just use the name of Beijing liaison office, and hang a board to become a liaison office.
Since county-level liaison offices don't get legitimate status, it is hard to check whether they left or not.
For many county-level Beijing liaison offices, whether the Beijing office is there doesn't really matter to them personally: Ma is deputy secretary-general of his county government while Wu is deputy director of the Office of Letters and Calls in Rui'an.
"Many told me that they can even do good business with all the contacts they accumulated in Beijing," Li said.
Gong Weibin, a professor from the Chinese Academy of Governance, said the liaison offices may not be easy to remove.
"Since the county-level liaison offices have some irreplaceable functions such as applying for projects for their hometowns and maintaining stability, the authorities would have to find other organizations to do these jobs," Gong said.
