Guangdong provincial authorities will allow more social organizations to be established to encourage the public to become more involved in managing social affairs, a top government official said.

"We are building a new mode of social management, which will lead to more involvement by Party leadership and participation by the public," Zhu Xiaodan, the newly elected governor of Guangdong, told reporters on Friday at the annual session of the National People's Congress.

The change is part of social reforms that are being adopted by the provincial government, which has been overburdened by its attempts to manage social affairs in the past, Zhu said.

"After dealing with a series of social issues in recent years, we will concentrate on transferring these social-management responsibilities to authorized and qualified social organizations," Zhu said.

Zhu noted the protests that broke out in September in Wukan, a fishing village in the eastern part of Guangdong, in response to illegal land sales and other issues. He said an unsound system of social management, especially at the grassroots levels, has given rise to great difficulties in the province in recent years.

In early March, Wukan residents went to the polls to elect a new village committee. Many now say they think the change will lead to better governance in village affairs and better protection of their interests.

"Situations similar to what happened in Wukan will continue to arise if we do not change our existing social-management methods at the grassroots," said Zhu, also an NPC deputy.