Study On The Formalism Problem Of Township Governments Under Pressurized System

The problem of formalism has always been a "difficult problem" that plagued the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese government.From the "Yan'an Rectification" during the Anti-Japanese War,to the "Three-Rebel Movement" in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China,to the present "Anti-Four Wind Movement",these efforts have not completely removed formalism from within the political system.Moreover,the problem of formalism has evolved with the development of politics and society to generate new types and types,which has become one of the main obstacles to the improvement of government efficiency and the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity.Central leaders and the central government also attach great importance to formalism.In his many speeches,General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed that all departments in various regions should resolutely correct the "four winds" headed by "formalism and bureaucracy".The central government has also recently issued a series of documents specifically addressing grassroots formalism,including the Notice on Addressing the Problem of Formalism as a Grassroots Burden.The academic community has now conducted extensive research on the formalism problems existing in the government,especially the formalism of the grassroots government,including the latest manifestations,hazards,causes and countermeasures of formalism.Different from scholars' research on formalism from the perspective of leading cadres' style of work,this paper through the analytical framework of a pressurized system and the selection of a township government for empirical research attempts to answer the following questions: What are the manifestations and hazards of formalism in Chinese township governments? Is the pressure-type system the cause of the formalism problem of the Chinese township government? What is the formation mechanism of the formalism problem of Chinese township governments under the pressurized system? What are the paths to govern the formalism of township governments? etc.Through field research and conversations with leading cadres of the township government,we found that there are four major formalism problems in the X township government.Firstly,in the process of conveying the superior policy that have many formalism problems such as too many files and meetings and file implementation file with meeting implementation meeting etc.Secondly,there are formalism problems such as selective execution,one-size-fits-all and serious trace management in the process of implementing policies.Thirdly,there are formalism problems such as the orientation and trend of attaching importance to "materials" and neglecting "effectiveness" in the supervisory inspection and assessment of the township government.Lastly,in the process of political learning,there are formalism problems such as unilateral emphasis on learning materials and learning scores,ignoring actual learning effects.These formalism problems have affected the administrative efficiency of the township government on the political level,undermined the credibility of the government and polluted the political ecology.They may also cause financial losses of the township government and thus weaken the economic development potential of the township.Finally,they will spill over to the social level and endanger the social atmosphere.Through further research,this paper finds that the actual operation process of the pressurized system in the township government and some of its variations are the root causes of the formalism of the township government.The township government under the pressurized system is under pressure from higher levels of government,the public and the government at the same level.Responsibility isomorphism and territorial management maximize the pressurized system' function to warm and pressurize.However,due to the inherent congenital shortcomings of township governments,including low status,low resources,small power and large responsibilities that caused the township government not to fully convert these pressures into motivation.The township government had to adopt some formalistic means for decompression and selfprotection,and finally caused the problem of formalism of township governments.In this process,the subjective attitude and work style of the leading cadres of the township government only play a secondary role rather than a decisive role.Therefore,in order to thoroughly control the formalism of township governments,we must proceed from the three aspects of suppressing the negative effects of the pressurized system,making up for the inadequacy of the township government and enhancing the enthusiasm of township cadres.These measures specifically include the following five items: Firstly,the government should streamline the number of meetings and documents,and reform the style of the style.Secondly,the government should improve inspection and examination,and use "one-vote veto" with caution.Thirdly,the government should reduce path dependence and guide people to participate.Fourthly,it is necessary to break the responsibility of the same structure and decentralize the township government.Fifthly,improving the accountability system and attaching importance to cadre care.