奇葩證明 (qipa zhengming): Bizarre certificates

Media reports have exposed that some local authorities require citizens to obtain bizarre certificates such as one to prove "your mother is your mother". These certificates are administrative verification, which is always the precondition for non-administrative license examinations and approvals. As non-administrative license examinations and approvals were abolished last month, the bizarre certificates should finally disappear from people's lives.

The canceling of such examinations and approvals was not only to eliminate the raison d'être for the bizarre certificates, but also to turn "approval-oriented government" into "service-oriented government".

However, the efficiency of cleaning up non-administrative licenses is comparatively low. According to media reports, till now only 11 provinces claim to have finished the work. And experts expect that the bizarre certificates will survive for two more years because it will be difficult to clean up non-administrative licenses at city and county levels.

The public has suffered from burdensome and unreasonable certificates for a long time, which requires the authorities to effectively clean up the requirement for non-administrative licenses at the grassroots level. City and county-level authorities should also carry out "power lists" to define their power, responsibilities and obligations. And there should be an accountability mechanism to supervise the effect of cleaning up non-administrative licenses in local areas.