Legislators on Tuesday suggested better management of professional associations, which are expected to shoulder part of administrative duties during a proposed trial reform period.

A draft decision was submitted to the ongoing bi-monthly session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) on Monday to authorize south China's Guangdong province to suspend or adjust 25 governmental examination and approval items set by national law.

According to the draft, 15 government approval items targeted for suspension will be handed over to qualified professional associations outside the government.

The government should not interfere with matters that can be managed by social entities, said Rita Fan Hsu Lai Tai, a member of the NPC Standing Committee, during Tuesday's panel discussion, adding that the function of the government is to supervise their operation.

Legislator Tang Tianbiao said industrial associations need to improve their ability to administer qualifications for professionals and enterprises.

When such associations are not independent, they may perform more poorly than government agencies, warned Zhu Yongxin, a member of the NPC Standing Committee.

Zhu said most industrial associations operate just like the government, urging prompt efforts to strengthen the management of such associations.

The draft received wide support during the discussion, with many legislators calling for further reduction of administrative items to enhance efficiency and reduce costs.

Since 2001, the government has made six attempts to clean up the administrative approval system, which has caused unnecessary government intervention in small business, power abuses and corruption.

Figures from the State Council, or China's cabinet, show that a total of 2,497 administrative approval items have been rescinded or adjusted in the past ten years, accounting for 69.3 percent of the total number of items.

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