The General Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee recently issued a document on pilot reform of the national supervision system in Beijing, and Shanxi and Zhejiang provinces, which will establish supervisory committees at various levels in these three regions.

The reform aims to explore a new institutional supervision mechanism and accumulate experiences for it to be implemented nationwide.

The communiqué of the Sixth Plenum of the 18th CPC Central Committee that was held last month called for Party committees at all levels to support and enable local people's congresses, supervisory bodies and judicial authorities to supervise government departments and civil servants.

The reform shows the importance being attached to supervising all the exercises of public power.

Under the current supervision system, there are limits on the targets of supervision and the supervisory organs lack sufficient independence, which obstruct the supervisory organs from fully playing their intended role.

The document this time aims to establish a central and unified, authoritative and highly efficient national supervision system to supervise all public office holders, including officials in the Party organs, members of people's congresses, political consultative organs and judicial authorities, as well as other public employees.

To improve the supervision system, the relationship between the supervisory and prosecutorial bodies should be further straightened out.