up as an intermediate level to help counties deal with very large numbers of towns and township, they are now being phased out, and towns and townships are being enlarged to partially fill their place. In effect, this reform is already being carried out in most parts of the country. In addition, there are proposals to merge smaller counties as well. Proponents of this believe that the sheer size of the Chinese bureaucracy (and hence, the sheer amount of resources that it consumes) is due to the extraordinary number of counties and townships—and they believe that the number can be reduced. Opponents of this believe that the population density of China means that tiny counties and townships are needed for effective government. They also claim that any drastic change to grassroots-level government would have adverse effects on social stability. Bypassing the provincial hierarchy Another reform is to have certain institutions of the central government form institutions which completely bypass the number provincial hierarchies. The model for this is federal institutions of the United States of America and the purpose is to prevent provincial and local interference in some functions of the central government. The Military Area Commands of the People's Liberation Army have long been administered in this fashion precisely to prevent local officials from exercising control and influence over the military. One recent example of this reform has been the People's Bank of China which in 1999 abolished all provincial and local branches creating regional districts which do not correspond to provincial boundaries. A similar reform has been suggested for the judicial system creating circuit and district courts which do not correspond to provincial boundaries to reduce corruption and government payroll. See also Administrative divisions of China References Yang, Dali. Remaking the Chinese Leviathan: Market Transition and the Politics of Governance in China. Stanford University Press, 2004. External links Keeping It Simple, by Lan Xinzhen, Beijing Review Administrative divisions of China Reform in China