Laws of the Guangdong Province

Regulations of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone on the Promotion of Reform and Innovation

(Adopted at the Fifth Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Fourth Shenzhen Municipal People' s Congress on March 14, 2006, promulgated on March 20, 2006, and put into force from July 1, 2006)

Chapter I General Provisions

       Article 1 In order to promote the reform and innovation in the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone (hereinafter referred to as the Special Zone), to ensure overall coordinated sustainable development of economy and society, and to take the lead in realizing the socialist modernization by and large, these regulations are hereby formulated.

       Article 2 These regulations shall apply to the reform and innovation in the Special Zone' s economic system, administrative system, cultural system, and social management system, etc., the reform and innovation in judicial work, and the reform and innovation in the administration, services, etc. of government offices, public non-profit institutions and people' s organizations.

       Article 3 The reform and innovation shall take the Deng Xiaoping theory and the important thoughts on "three representatives" as a guideline, put the scientific development view into practice, and follow the provisions of the Constitution and the basic principles of laws, administrative regulations.

       Article 4 The reform and innovation shall be closely linked with the practical conditions of the Special Zone, emancipate the mind, seek truth from facts, advance with each passing day, and actively draw on the fruits of the world civilization, especially the valuable experience in the building of institutions, mechanisms and judicial system.

       Article 5 The reform and innovation shall uphold the principle of openness, fairness, justice, science and democracy, recruit and encourage the public to participate on a large scale, take into account the interests of all parties, and ensure that the people would share the fruits of the reform and innovation.

       Article 6 The reform and innovation shall carry out the guideline of active encouragement, full support, and correct direction.

       Article 7 The government offices, public non-profit institutions, and people' s organizations shall have the work duties to engage in the reform and innovation, heighten the consciousness of the necessity of the reform and innovation, increase the ability to reform and innovate, and push forward the reform and innovation in accordance with the needs of economic and social development.

       The other organizations such as enterprises, social groups shall be encouraged to undertake, participate in the reform and innovation.

Chapter II Work Duties

       Article 8 The Municipal, District People' s Government (hereinafter referred to as the municipal, district governments) shall be responsible for the reform and innovation in economic system, administrative system, cultural system, and social management system.

       The municipal, district people' s courts, people' s procuratorates shall be responsible for the reform and innovation in trial and public prosecution.

       The government offices, public non-profit institutions, and people' s organizations shall be responsible for the reform and innovation in administration, services according to the needs to carry out their functions.

       Article 9 The municipal working office of structural reform shall specifically assume the responsibility for overall planning, directing, coordinating, and supervising the reform and innovation, and discharge the following duties:

(1)   to draft mid-term and long-term programs and annual plans for the city-wide reform and innovation, and to organize their implementation after approval;

(2)   to organize the making of a scheme for a major reform and innovation;

(3)   to direct, supervise the implementation of the plans for the city-wide reform and innovation and the schemes for major reforms and innovations;

(4)   to organize, direct the assessment of the reform and innovation;

(5)   the other work prescribed by laws, regulations, and the municipal government.

Article 10 The various departments of the municipal government shall be

responsible for the reform and innovation within the limits of the duties of their own department, and discharge the following duties:

(1)   to make a plan for the reform and innovation in their own department, and to organize its implementation after approval;

(2)   to make a scheme for the reform and innovation in their own department and to organize its implementation;

(3)   to organize the implementation of the scheme for a major reform and innovation decided by the municipal government;

(4)   to direct the professionally corresponding responsible departments of district governments in their reforms and innovations;

(5)   the other reforms and innovations prescribed by the municipal government.

Article 11 The government offices, public non-profit institutions, and people' s

organizations shall actively support the reform and innovation of other offices, institutions, and organizations:

(1)   to actively cooperate with the related responsible department to work out a complete set of schemes for the reform and innovation;

(2)   to organize the implementation of the scheme for the reform and innovation related to their own unit' s work, and to promptly provide the feedback concerning the implementation for the related units;

(3)   to actively take part in the coordination setup, deliberation setup organized by the related responsible department and to actively participate in the related work;

(4)   to seriously study the request of a related unit for advice and to promptly make a reply.

Article 12 The leading officials of government offices, public non-profit

institutions, and people' s organizations shall be the persons directly responsible for the reform and innovation in their own units.

Chapter III Main Procedures

       Article 13 The reform and innovation shall go through the main procedures such as offering a proposal, making a plan and a scheme, organizing their implementation, assessing results, etc.

       Article 14 The government offices, public non-profit institutions, and people' s organizations shall widely solicit, listen to the comments and suggestions of all walks of life and the public on the reform and innovation, and take them as an important basis to determine the focal points of the reform and innovation, to make plans and schemes for the reform and innovation.

       Article 15 The municipal, district governments shall make mid-term and long-term programs and annual plans for the reform and innovation.

       The government offices, public non-profit institutions, and people' s organizations shall make plans for the reform and innovation in the light of the practical conditions of their own units.

       Article 16 In order to make a plan and a scheme for the reform and innovation, a thorough investigation and study shall be done, and experts' appraisal, technological consultation, and pre-assessment shall be arranged as well according to the related rules.

       The appraisal of the major projects of the reform and innovation determined by the municipal government shall be arranged by the municipal working office of structural reform.  

       Article 17 If a scheme of the reform and innovation involves the lawful duties of other government offices, public non-profit institutions, and people' s organizations, there shall be full consultation; if it is necessary, the responsible department at a higher level shall be requested to coordinate.

       Article 18 The mid-term and long-term programs, annual plans, and schemes of the municipal, district governments for the reform and innovation, the plans and schemes of the various departments of the municipal government shall be made public to the society.

       Article 19 If any reform and innovation involves many parties and has to deal with complicated issues, an experiment may be conducted in parts of an area or in a particular unit.

       Article 20 If any reform and innovation needs to formulate, revise, or abolish the regulations of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, the regulations of the Shenzhen Municipality and the rules of the municipal government, the regulation-making and rules-making offices shall be first asked for formulating, revising, or abolishing these regulations, rules.

      If any measures of the reform and innovation have to be put into practice before the related regulations, rules are revised, abolished, the schemes for the reform and innovation may be submitted to the regulations-making and rules-making offices for approval to be implemented, and then the revision, abolishment of the related regulations, rules shall promptly follow according to the legislative procedure.

       Article 21 Since the reform and innovation is in the category of items which laws, regulations, and the state policies have not provided for, the municipal, district governments may issue regulatory documents in advance to make rules within the limits of their power.

       After the regulatory documents are put into practice, the items which need legislation shall be submitted within one year to the Standing Committee of the Municipal People' s Congress or the municipal government to formulate regulations or rules.

       Article 22 Both in the process of implementation of a scheme for the reform and innovation and after the completion of its implementation, the related unit shall arrange an assessment of results.

       As for the major reform and innovation involving the public interests, the municipal working office of structural reform or the superior unit shall entrust a non-interested third party with the assessment of results.

       The assessment report shall be made public to the society.

Chapter IV Public Participation

       Article 23 Any organization and individual shall have the right to make comments and suggestions on the reform and innovation to the government offices, public non-profit institutions, and people' s organizations.

       The government offices, public non-profit institutions, and people' s organizations shall promptly reply, according to the related rules, to the comments and suggestions referred to in the previous section.

       Article 24 As for the major reform and innovation involving the public interests, the related units shall hold a hearing.

       The related development of the hearing shall be made public to the society; the main comments made in the hearing shall be taken into account as an important basis for decision making.

       Article 25 As to the major projects of the reform and innovation decided by the municipal, district governments, comments shall be solicited from the social groups such as the related trade associations, etc.; if the major reform and innovation involve the public interests, the related units shall make their schemes or the key points of their schemes public to the society and publicly ask for comments before making official decisions.

       After a decision on the reform and innovation involving the public interests is made, the related unit shall make it public 30 days in advance of its implementation. If there are other stipulations in laws, regulations, they shall be honored.

       Article 26 The municipal government shall establish an interactive platform of public information concerning the reform and innovation, and provide convenience for the public to participate in the reform and innovation.

       Article 27 The government offices, public non-profit institutions, and people' s organizations shall, by means of forum, informal discussion, workshop, etc., organize the public and social groups such as the related trade associations, etc. to participate in the study and discussion of the items of major reforms and innovations.

       Article 28 If there is one of the following situations concerning the item which has caused the public' s common concern and request for the reform and innovation, the related responsible person shall make an explanation and interpretation to the public:

(1)   the item has not been incorporated into a plan for the reform and innovation;

(2)   the scheme for the reform and innovation has not been worked out on time;

(3)   the main contents of the implementation scheme are not in accordance with the public' opinion;

(4)   the scheme for the reform and innovation has not been effectively implemented.

Chapter V Incentive Assurance

       Article 29 The municipal government shall set up an award for the reform and innovation, commend and reward the organizations and individuals satisfying one of the following requirements:

(1)   having actively pushed forward the reform and innovation, and achieved a significant result;

(2)   having the fruit of a study or comment, suggestion concerning the reform and innovation which has been accepted and led to remarkable economic returns and social benefits;

(3)   having made other outstanding contributions to the reform and innovation.

The other government offices, public non-profit institutions, and people' s

organizations shall give proper awards to the organizations and individuals making the comments or suggestions which are very valuable to the reform and innovation.

Article 30 The government offices, public non-profit institutions, and people' s

organizations shall take the reform and innovation into account as an important item in the performance assessment.

       The municipal working office of structural reform shall, according to a plan, arrange the evaluation on the reform and innovation of the government offices, public non-profit institutions, and people' s organizations, and make the evaluation results public.

       Article 31 The contributions that the personnel of the government offices, public non-profit institutions, and people' s organizations have made to the reform and innovation shall be taken into account as an important basis for their promotion in terms of positions, ranks.

       Article 32 The offices making the regulations of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, the regulations of the Shenzhen Municipality, the rules of the municipal government, and regulatory documents shall, according to the needs of the reform and innovation, formulate, revise, and abolish the regulations, rules, and regulatory documents on time in order to consolidate the fruits of the reform and innovation and to guarantee the smooth development of the reform and innovation.

       Article 33 The funds that the government offices, public non-profit institutions, and people' s organizations need for the reform and innovation shall be entered into the budgets of departments and be ensured. The specific measures shall be formulated by the municipal department of finance jointly with the related departments and implemented after the municipal government' s approval.

       Article 34 The government offices, public non-profit institutions, and people' s organizations may publicly solicit schemes for the reform and innovation and may also entrust a specialized institution with drafting, appraisal and evaluation of plans and schemes for the reform and innovation.

       Article 35 The government offices, public non-profit institutions, and people' s organizations shall strengthen the research in the reform and innovation, and actively spread the new fruits of the reform and innovation.

       The other organizations and individuals shall be encouraged to do research in the theory of the reform and innovation.

Chapter VI Supervision Measures

       Article 36 The Standing Committees of the Municipal, District People' s Congresses shall strengthen the supervision over the reform and innovation in their respective administrative regions.

       When reporting their work to the People' s Congress at the same level, the municipal, district governments, people' s courts, and people' s procuratorates shall report their reforms and innovations.

       Article 37 The Standing Committees of the Municipal, District People' s Congresses shall organize the Deputies to the People' s Congresses to inspect or examine the reform and innovation of the related units.

       Article 38 When organizing the discussion and appraisal of the work of government offices, the Standing Committees of the Municipal, District People' s Congresses shall discuss and appraise their reforms and innovations.

       Article 39 If any related unit is in one of the following situations, the municipal working office of structural reform, the superior unit shall request correction; if it is necessary, the stop of the implementation of its scheme for the reform and innovation may be requested:

(1)   the guidelines and basic principles of these regulations are violated;

(2)   the prescribed procedures are violated;

(3)   the result of implementation deviates from the expected goals;

(4)   the scheme for the reform and innovation has not been implemented seriously and the resultant effects are harmful.

Article 40 If any government office, public non-profit institution, and people' s

organization is in one of the following situations, the supervision office or the superior unit shall investigate into the responsibility of the person in charge and directly responsible persons; the municipal working office of structural reform may ask the municipal supervision office or the superior unit to investigate into the responsibility of the related persons:

(1)   the circumstances are serious in terms of resistance to and obstruction of the reform and innovation;

(2)   private gains are sought for unit or individual in the name of reform and innovation;

(3)   the malicious collaboration with other units or individuals has a result to damage the public interests.

Article 41 If the reform and innovation fail to reach the expected goals but

satisfy one of the following condition, the related persons may be exempt from the investigation into their responsibilities:

(1)   the making of the scheme for the reform and innovation and the procedure of implementation meet the related stipulations;

(2)   individuals and unit have not sought private gains;

(3)   there is no malicious collaboration with other units or individuals to do damages to the public interests.

If there are other stipulations in laws, regulations, they shall be honored.

Chapter VII Supplementary Provisions

       Article 42 The public non-profit institutions referred to in these regulations shall mean those institutions which are funded by the government, provide public services, and do not seek profits.

       Article 43 The municipal government, the intermediate people' s court, the municipal people' s procuratorate may formulate specific measures for implementation of these regulations.