LESS PRESSURE: Small businesses now enjoy a fairer environment
with the abolishment of the administrative fee charge

Olympic Legacy

The 29th Olympic Games have successfully drawn to a close. It's easy to find the subtle changes in the way Beijing handled its public affairs management before and during the period of Olympics.

Especially since July 2008, Beijing's appearance has been greatly improved, together with more human-centered public policies. Decisions are made in a more flexible and human-centered way and this forms the basis for higher-level management of public affairs. The biggest improvement during the Olympic Games is that public services began to turn to the public's needs instead of the government's needs.

Meanwhile, through improved communication channels, the public has quick access to information of policies and explanations from decision makers. During the Olympics, dissemination of information not only served the game events, but also benefited ordinary people, particularly the prompt issuing of information on environment, sanitation, weather and transportation issues.

Actually, the modernization of public management is an irreversible process. Despite the huge input in this area, in the long run, this input will help cut administrative costs and improve the capacity to govern. This is also part of the valuable legacy of the Olympics.

The Beijing News

Facilitating Small Businesses

Beginning on September 1, China scrapped the decades-old administrative fees for individual businesses.

Nowadays, it is the market that offers services to individual businesses and supervises the operation process, instead of the government.

The high overhead costs have become a big obstacle for individual businesses to go forward. According to statistics from the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, in 1999, China had 31.6 million individual businesses, but by June 2006, the number had dropped to 25.05 million. The key reason is the high cost of opening a business.

Theoretically, apart from taxes, individual businesses should not be asked to pay other fees and the authority's responsibility is to offer services but not charge fees.