To evaluate good governance in China, the elements of good governance investigated in this article - voice accountability, government effectiveness and transparency - are related to the institutions of national political systems, and institutional adaptations to the requirements of policy innovations coming from transitionary market economy.
The development of Shequ that began in the 1990s was designed to resolve the issues of the community through self-government by the urban citizens. The expansion of self-government, ironically led to increased public awareness of the residents and to a social movement to protect private property. In this process, the government instituted the legal framework for the management of Shequ, and the previous institutional set up of central government-district(qu) government-sub-street office faced a new momentum for change. In the end, increasing the participation of the urban residents actually led to improved effectiveness of government capacity. Of course,such change has only begun in the urban areas of China.
The Xingzheng sanfenzhi was based on the concept of separation of powers in a democratic state; the 3 areas of policy making, policy execution and policy evaluation would be separated, and check and balance among the departments through coordination and consensus would ensure policy efficiency. This study points to conflicts with the existing administrative system, lack of policy will by the political leadership, and resistance from public officials as the causes of failure. The failure of Xingzheng sanfenzhi, however, provides important implications on the relationship between politics anda dministration in China. A deepening of administrative reform is invariably linked to broad and fundamental political reforms, and impossible without meaningful political participation by the people.