General Auditor Li Jinhua's June 24 report to the National People's Congress (NPC) disclosed the embezzlement of public funds in various government departments and stirred an auditing storm across the country.

Yet this is not the first time that such problems have been revealed.

The National Audit Office (NAO) has regularly delivered its annual reports to the National People's Congress in recent years. Still, it seems the problems not only are not properly solved after they are uncovered, but actually have gotten worse.

Why?

The lack of an effective system of accountability is a major factor.

Past financial malpractice cases disclosed in audit findings have not been properly dealt with and officials involved in the situations either received little or no punishment or just changed posts while maintaining their rank or titles. This lack of liability for the acts of malpractice allows such acts to continue.

This time the public is expectant, eagerly awaiting an accountability check in the wake of the audit "storm" thundering across China.

And to improve and complete a scientific system of checks and balances, strengthened external inspections should be enhanced.

Generally, an accountability system includes both internal and external supervision.

Internal checks refer to supervision by cadres within the Party as well as by government officials. Supervision of the government and its officials by the Party also belongs to the internal system since major officials are nominated by the Party.

External supervision, however, involves all institutions that are related to the public interest.

Among these bodies that are accountable to the public, the people's congress is the most important.

According to the Constitution, all administrative, judicial and procuratorial organs of the State are created by the people's congresses to which they are responsible and by which they are supervised.

The National People's Congress and local people's congresses at various levels and their standing committees can inquire into specific questions and adopt relevant resolutions in light of their reports.

According to local organic laws, the standing committees of people's congresses at or above county level can dismiss officials at the same levels.

And to dismiss officials guilty of malfeasance is the major method for the people's congresses and their standing committees to crack down on improper conduct and hold officials accountable.

Through executing the rights of inquiry, investigation and dismissals, people's congresses and their standing committees can deter inappropriate conduct by officials. Some corrupt officials would likely rather take the blame and resign in order to avoid being dismissed.

As public institutions continue to play a more important role in supervision, resignations will become the core of the accountability system. This is especially prominent in recent innovations of the responsibility checks by the courts.

During the Fourth Session of the Ninth NPC, Chief Justice Xiao Yang said that a system of accountability, responsibility and duty to resign will be promoted. Those officials who are responsible for serious cases of illegality should resign by themselves or be dismissed by the people's congresses and their standing committees.

And the meaning of taking up political responsibility is to be accountable to the public, and to the people's congress. To enhance the system of accountability will pressure officials and spur them to perform their duties well.

The essence of the political responsibility system is governance under the Constitution. Here the behaviours under check include those of the government as well as the Party. A political accountability system supervises the behaviours of the government and the Party according to the Constitution to realize the "rule of law."

The key point and also the most difficult part of China's responsibility system lies in the utilization of external checks.

How then can one enhance external supervision?

First, the right of supervision by the people's congresses should be stressed.

Officials should be responsible to public opinion, which means they should shoulder moral and political responsibility. The people's congress system is China's fundamental political system. But without detailed statutes, procedures and responsibility processes, the inquiry system is seldom used and the dismissal system is only implemented when officials have clearly violated the law. Thus, the right to dismiss officials by people's congresses should be ensured when rebuilding a scientific accountability system.

When the strength of governing according to law is enhanced, non-confidence vote, impeachment and resignation should also be introduced to increase the measures and strengths of supervision by the people's congresses.

The target of supervision should be enlarged to include all State institutions and the chief executives. The current regulation holds that only written proposals, signed by a certain number of deputies to inquire the State Council and its ministries and committees, can be made during the people's congress sessions. No inquiry can be made on individuals in charge of these departments.

Second, media supervision should be increased.

If the media have no smooth channels to information, the right of citizens to know and understand what is happening around them cannot be guaranteed, nor can they hold public officials in check. Therefore, increased media supervision is grounds for the establishment of an accountability system.

Third, a public interest litigation system should be set up.

Under such a system, citizens should be encouraged to sue administrative institutions for unlawful behaviour in economic management or non-action.

Last but not least, citizens' enthusiasm in supervising should be urged. A reporting and award system should be set up in certain areas.

For example, when checking problems of work safety in various enterprises, supervision only by administrative departments is limited. People inside the enterprises should be encouraged to report illegal activities of the enterprises. Accidents can thereby be effectively prevented. And the goals of the responsibility system can be fulfilled.

After all, accountability and supervision are not the goal. To protect the safety of the public and promote the country's development is.

The author is vice-president of the Party School of Hubei Province.

(China Daily August 18, 2004)