BEIJING, Feb. 21 (Xinhuanet) -- China's central authorities plan to reduce the number of officials in towns and counties in the coming five years, according to a document released Tuesday on building a new countryside.

    Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told a national rural work conference in late 2005 that comprehensive rural reforms include changes to township institutions, compulsory rural education and fiscal management at the county and town levels, the document said.

    These tasks, said the premier, will be even tougher to implement now that agricultural taxes are to be eliminated. If these reforms fail it will be hard to maintain normal operations of grass-roots institutions.

    The document said that the central and provincial governments should be responsible for rural compulsory education. Enditem