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Prompt change to rule guards people's rights
2003-06-21
China Daily
The much-criticized system of sending beggars and vagrants back to their home provinces is coming to an end, thanks to the government's response to public questioning.
The relocation system, established more than two decades ago under specific historical circumstances, is not in line with the current situation.
A new draft regulation is to take its place, emphasizing the provision of aid instead of putting people into custody and then forcing them back to their original provinces. The draft, adopted by the State Council on Wednesday, is to undergo further revision before being implemented.
The government has made a significant change in its concept of administration, going from being a controller to being a service provider.
The system of sending people to their home provinces gradually evolved into a system of mandatory punitive measures that usually targeted migrant workers.
Millions of farmers now flood cities to look for work, which serves the needs of industrialization and urbanization and also contributes significantly to rural and urban economic development. In these circumstances, such a regulation constitutes discrimination against migrant workers.
Though the new draft has not yet been published, announcements from the State Council executive meeting presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao illustrate that the future way of dealing with people begging and roaming cities will involve the building of an efficient social aid and relief mechanism instead of simply forcing people to return to their home province.
People with no money to cover their basic living expenses in cities will be covered by the mechanism on a voluntary basis, unlike the old regulation, which led to mandatory intervention and removal.
The State Council decision is a satisfactory response to the fierce public debate over the controversial rule.
The public have applauded the government's timely response and efficient way of working, as can be judged from the many such comments posted on the Internet.
Debate over the rule was sparked by the tragic death of Sun Zhigang on March 20.
Sun, a 27-year-old native of Central China's Hubei Province, had been working in Guangzhou in South China's Guangdong Province for a local garment company. He died in a holding centre's hospital after being brutally beaten.
He was detained by local police under the excuse of a local regulation based on the old system. Then he was sent to a relocation station as a sanwu person - someone in a city with no legal identity documents, normal residence or source of income.
Those responsible for Sun's death have been punished. The process of putting things right, however, did not end when the sentences were announced.
Public critiques also pinpointed the relocation system as also being to blame for Sun's tragic death.
In May, two groups of legal experts wrote to the National People's Congress Standing Committee, calling for a review of the relocation rule. According to the experts, the rule violates citizens' freedom of the person as stipulated in China's Constitution.
At a time when people are still wondering whether and when the Congress, the nation's highest legislative body, will review the State Council document, now the State Council has promptly rectified its own rule.
The case is significant in the process of China building up its legal system.
It is not certain whether the State Council action was taken under pressure of a possible review by the Congress, but the result itself illustrates that a very positive system of interactive administration is coming into being.
The relocation regulation may not be the only or the last administrative rule made by governments at various levels to become outdated or to violate people's constitutional rights. It is to be hoped that more action will follow to truly guarantee people's constitutional rights.
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