Check to be kept on pension fund
Shanghai's government is planning to set up two new bodies to oversee the local pension fund and fight abuses of power as part of a crackdown on graft following a massive corruption case.
The moves, announced by local media yesterday, are among several that appear aimed at asserting central government control over the local government.
The Communist Party sacked Shanghai's top leader, party secretary Chen Liangyu , in late September for his involvement in misappropriating billions from the city's pension fund. The firing, though justified as part of a crackdown on corruption, was widely seen as a move by President Hu Jintao to strengthen his power.
Shanghai planned to set up a social security fund supervision committee as early as next month, the China Business News reported. The group will include members of the local legislature, an advisory body to the legislature and other experts.
Before the scandal, Shanghai and other local governments managed social security funds with little internal or external oversight. Academics have called for regular reporting to local legislatures and government departments.
Some provinces had set up similar committees, the China Business News said, but did not name them. Under new rules issued by Shanghai on management of the social security fund, which will take effect on January 1, fund managers must make regular reports to 'society'.
Separately, the Shanghai prosecutors office would elevate a body aimed at fighting dereliction of duty and violation of rights to the higher 'bureau' level from 'department' or 'section' level, the Oriental Morning Post reported. The move heralds a keener focus on stopping abuses of power.
The bureau will deal with 42 types of violations, including illegal detention, torture and making use of the organs of power to seek revenge. The Supreme People's Court recently called for a halt to police torture to extract confessions.
The new bureau will work closely with an existing bureau tasked with fighting graft, though it would remain under the Shanghai prosecutors office, the newspaper said.
Earlier this week, the mainland named a new head of Shanghai's Commission for Discipline Inspection, the party's body for investigating corruption. The post was given to an outsider, Shen Deyong , a former vice-president of the Supreme People's Court.
