Innovative Study Of The Management System Of Maritime Search And Rescue In China

Sea transportation, as a way of developing and utilizing the ocean, plays an important role in supporting and guarantying the harmonious development of the national economy, foreign trade and regional economy. Maritime search and rescue is a vital measure to minimize the damages to the human life, property and marine environment caused by marine accidents, to create a good environment for sea transportation and maritime safety work, and to secure the development of transportation on the sea. Maritime search and rescue somehow reflects a country’s public management ability.China, as a marine power, has a long coastline and a vast sea area, which takes a strategic position in China’s economic and social development. With the comprehensively promotion of the China’s socialist modernization construction, especially the speeding up of the implementation of China’s marine strategy, and the continuous development of economic globalization as well as trade liberalization, maritime transportation has entered a new stage of rapid development. The growing marine danger and risk pose a severe challenge to maritime search and rescue in China.The maritime search and rescue management system, with the characteristics of being fundamental, overall, stable and long-term, plays a central and conducting role in maritime search and rescue action. Facing the situation and task under the new historic condition, China’s maritime search and rescue management system must make some adaptive reform and innovation, in order to elevate maritime search and rescue capabilities.The current maritime search and rescue management system of Chinese government originated from the highly centralized socialist planned economy period, with obvious traditional public management brand from the beginning. Before the reform and opening up, maritime search and rescue practice the model of pure government supply, owned exclusively by the government. After the reform and opening up, in order to adapt to the economic and social transformation, China’s maritime search and rescue management system has made some necessary adjustments and changes, like taking in some companies, institutions and social organizations, and the operating mechanism has changed as well. However, due to the impact of the ingrained traditional government-oriented public management mode, the government is still the only center of power and responsibility for maritime search and rescue, while other institutions and organizations are just playing the role of government’s "assistant" and "subordinates", with an attitude of passive accepting rather than active participation during the maritime search and rescue work. The inherent deficiencies of sunch model are mainly:(1) the organizational structure of sharing power and responsibility has not been formed;(2) the collaborative authority-responsibility relationship is not clear;(3) the management mechanism based on the characteristics of trust, service, cooperation has not been established;(4) the formal and non-formal institution participation system needs to be strengthened;(5) the working pattern of cross field and regional cooperation needs to be strengthened.Governance theory, emerged in the western countries in1990s, is the result of introspection and critics of traditional public administration theory, with a core idea of realizing the co-participation of multi subjects in public affairs through cooperation, consultation and partnership. The theory has theoretical and practical reference value in the management system innovation of maritime search and rescue in China. In order to mobilize the power of government, market and society to participate in maritime search and rescue, and to arouse public interest, we need to use the theory of governance to reconstruct China’s maritime search and rescue management system from unitary management to multiple governance. The main measures include:(1) optimizing the structure of the organization;(2) improving the responsibility system;(3) improving the incentive and restraint mechanisms;(4) cultivating volunteer services;(5) promoting mechanism system construction.This thesis contains seven parts. The first part "Introduction" explains the reason, meaning, purpose, ideas and methods of the research, analyzes and evaluates the present situation of the research on the governance theory and maritime search and rescue in China.The second part,"The problem", re-recognizes the two core concepts of maritime search and rescue and its management system involved in the study, from the perspective of public management. On the basis of this, the thesis analyzes and presents the main defects and the root cause of China’s maritime search and rescue management system, so that to establish the category of the study and the starting point of analysis.The third part, the "Governance theory:a new theoretical tool", clarifies the background and main contents of governance theory, and analyzes the suitability of the governance theory for the innovation of maritime search and rescue management system in China, so that to create conditions for the use of this new theoretical tools.The fourth part,"Reviewing history:the historical evolution of China’s maritime search and rescue management system", reviews, analyzes the formation and evolution of China’s maritime search and rescue management system, and clarifies the relationship of dynamic balance between China’s maritime search and rescue management system and economic and social environment, so as to pave the way for the discussion on the management system innovation of maritime search and rescue in our country.The fifth part,"Learning experience:beneficial enlightenment of foreign maritime search and rescue management system", analyzes the status and experience of the maritime search and rescue management system in Britain, France, Australia, America, Japan and other major oceanic and shipping countries.The sixth part,"Looking to the future:innovative countermeasures to China’s maritime search and rescue management system", elaborates the connotation, characters, influence factors and basic principles of the management system innovation of maritime search and rescue, and uses the governance theory to find out the innovative countermeasures to the management system of China’s maritime search and rescue.The seventh part,"Conclusion and discussion", further refines the point of view, and discusses related problems of the research.