The Transfer Of Official-Citizen Idea From The Perspective Of Administrative Legal Culture

The essence of Chinese administrative legal culture is represented by the countless ties between "official and citizen". The model of political life, national governing idea and legal awareness, and nature traditional Chinese administration all exert a subtle influence over the formation of different relations between "official and citizen"."Culture is the sum of material wealth and spiritual wealth created during the development of human society and history. Culture on the spiritual level refers to people’s attitudes toward the development and changes in things. It is a kind of expression of one’s mentality, awareness, emotion and habit. At the same time, it also forms the core and soul of culture. Culture is never static. Instead, it seeks development and evolution dynamically. If evolution is failing. then it becomes weak and still, and, at this moment, it is a dead culture without soul. Likewise, administrative legal culture is the public expression of attitude, mentality, awareness, emotion and habits toward administrative legal order established by administrative subjects. Meanwhile, it is a synthetic manifestation of administrative laws, regulations and systems in practice. Thus, the core and soul of administrative legal culture is actually an expression of administrative counterpart and administrative subject. Idea precedes action. From the perspective of administrative legal culture, analysis of the official-citizen idea would offer a clear understanding of the history and development of Chinese administrative legal culture. At the same time, it also helps clarify the orientation and goal of building and developing Chinese administrative law and helps create a harmonious and stable political environment for administrative legal construction. Administrative subjects who wield the national authority play a major role in dealing with the national administrative relations. Therefore, the transfer of official-citizen idea shows the development history of Chinese administrative legal construction.Since the adoption of reform and opening-up policy, the Chinese society enters the period of restructuring. Therefore, administrative legal culture experienced a fundamental reform."Power standard" is gradually substituted by "right standard". Administrative legal restructuring further constrains the exercise of administrative right. The administrative method is thus followed by order. The mode of administration and management becomes service-oriented. The administrative idea in governmental organs gradually matches the public desire for a responsible and service-oriented government. The legal concept of administration by law is gradually formed. While exercising administrative right and managing public affairs, administrative organs should have the legal power and abide by the law strictly, thereby discarding the thought of ruling by man---power treading law. The gradual formation of contemporary Chinese administrative legal culture consolidates and clarifies the major orientation and legal environment of building of administrative law, and it also further promotes, develops and prospers the building of a Chinese society ruled by administrative law.This thesis is divided into four parts:The first part is an exploration in the concept of administrative legal culture. In the first place, there is no agreed standard definition of administrative legal culture in the circle of legal study. This thesis offers a specific definition of administrative legal culture after drawing ideas from relevant literatures. In addition, the analysis and discussion of contemporary Chinese administrative legal culture is based on this definition in this thesis. At the same time, in this part, there is also a specific definition of "contemporary" in contemporary Chinese administrative legal culture. that is. the period from reform and opening up in1978to date. Furthermore, this part also introduces four functions of administrative legal culture. namely. expressive function, directory function, communicative and selective function and integrative function, which offers a clear understanding of the role and influence of administrative legal culture over building of administrative legal system and legal order stability. Last but not least, this part also introduces the nature of official-citizen idea, thereby giving a full understanding the development of official-citizen idea in the history of administrative legal history. The political style of rite and music, the idea of a family-governed monarchic country and administration which takes people as the parent all influence subtly the formation of relations and official-citizen idea.The second part introduces the relation between contemporary Chinese administrative legal culture and administrative legal construction. Firstly, it introduces the concept of administrative legal construction and helps grasp the relations between administrative legal construction and administrative legal culture. On the one hand, building administrative legal system helps administrative legal system function. On the other hand, building administrative legal system influences the value orientation of administrative legal system.Next, it introduces the positive influences of contemporary Chinese administrative legal culture over administrative legal construction, that is, clarifying the idea of citizen’s right in administrative legal construction and control of administrative authority as well as the objective of realizing social equality and justice. It lastly introduces the negative influences of contemporary Chinese administrative legal culture over administrative legal construction with an emphasis on analyzing the influences of the remaining traditional cultural idea of administrative law over administrative legal construction, which is represented by covert idea of power supremacy, random administration and weak consciousness of procedure in the administrative legal construction.The third part introduces the status quo of contemporary Chinese administrative legal culture. It firstly introduces the transfer and establishment of the idea of power standard. Nevertheless, influenced by the traditional administrative legal culture, the idea of official standard is still remaining in the minds of administrative subjects "Bureaucrats shield one another","Dealing things through personal connection", and "Hiding the truth from the masses" are still evil climates going around. In administrative law enforcement, citizens are often abused and threatened by law-enforcement officers and cannot get satisfactory relief while claiming their rights. Next, it introduces the fact that the idea of rule of administrative law gradually takes the place of the idea of rule by administrators. Administrative officials have weak legal consciousness and awareness as well as limited use and comprehension of administrative legal rule and principles. In the minds of legal enforcement officers, administrative counterparts are second behind by administrative authority. Therefore, there exists a huge gap and time delay between the administrative legal system and administrative law enforcement. Thirdly, this part also introduces the fact that the administrative idea of taking administrative subjects as the parents of people is still alive. In the development of administrative legal construction, the government alters its idea, builds a people-oriented thinking approach and sets the idea of a fine, responsible service-oriented government with good governance. In the administrative law enforcement, however, some administrative subjects are still influenced by the traditional administrative legal culture and they still take part in the political life as parents of administrative counterparts, which influences the construction and development of administrative law. Fourthly, this part introduces the weak awareness of right protection as people "dislike and fear litigation". Though the right standard idea is fully established, yet people are still constrained by the traditional administrative legal culture. As the administrative subjects wield their authority, they are constantly undermining the legal rights of the public and the public thus form a covert resistance to the government in their minds.The forth part offers suggestions for improving the official-citizen idea from the perspective of administrative legal culture. It is about the suggestions for the problems shown in the transfer of the official-citizen idea in the current administrative legal culture. Firstly, the suggestion is about deepening the idea of putting people first and improving the administrative accountability system with a view to the problem of governmental squandering authority and the words of chief administrators weighing more than laws, etc. Next, the suggestion is about improving the morality of official and dealing with the conflicts between official and citizen reasonably with an emphasis on narrowing the gap between the administrative acts of governmental official and their legal awareness and avoiding the incidence of tacit administrative violence. Thirdly, the author suggests that the public should participate in the politics actively and there should be a common platform for the official and citizen. In the traditional administrative legal culture, people are only the passive subjects of administrative management. They have no right in the administration and never participate in it. At present, the success of administrative legal construction depends on not only the governmental effort but also the open mind of the public, their active participation as well as their creative ideas. At the same time, as the internal environment and external environment of the government are changing and complicated, the government should emphasize the common view and public participation, thereby building the national administrative management and decision-making on the wisdom and experiences of all people for bringing out scientific and reasonable administration and decision. Fourthly, the author suggests improving the common faith in both the official and citizen and enhancing their interactive relation with an emphasis on discarding the fear and resistance to administrative subjects in the minds of administrative counterparts, meeting the public demands for a credible government and forging an equal, friendly and interactive relation between official and people.Lastly, the study and analysis of administrative legal culture cannot only focus on a certain period. Any culture and idea are influenced by history and time. Thus, a better contemporary Chinese administrative legal culture needs both official and citizen cherishing the idea of keeping pace with the times, discarding the obsolete ideas, greater friendly exchange, full participation of administrative counterparts in political life and better cultural quality rather than waiting for a perfect solution. Governmental officials should cherish the ideas of new times and under the new system, seek a good way to stay on good terms with the people and hear from them.