Section 3 Adjusting and Developing Post Service to Meet the People's Needs

In the years just following the founding of PRC, not only the service categories, but also the postage standards on the same service varied in different postal regions. At that time, in the liberated areas such as the North China, East China, Northeast and Northwest, people used their own currencies. Usually, the service categories and postage standards were determined by themselves in light of actual conditions in each liberated area. Such conditions, detrimental to the development of the postal cause and to the unity of the country as well, required for prompt change. As from 1950, postal service categories across the country were got unified, apart from handling of letters, parcels and remittance services, the agency services such as consulting service, selling fiscal stamps, purchasing of goods and issuing advertising matters (called as leaflet in the past) on commission were also handled. Later, most of the agency services were stopped one after another because of socialist transformation.

After several adjustments in 1950s, China Posts came into four services, that is, letter, parcel, remittance and newspapers and periodicals subscription and distribution.

A. Letter service

In December,1949, the first national postal conference raised a resolution to unify national postal service categories. After the conference, the Directorate General of Posts adjusted universally the domestic letters by nature into eight categories. With the development of the socialist construction, in order to meet the needs of the masses and facilitate the masses, the letter service was adjusted for several times. In the late of 1950s, the letter service mainly consisted of four . categories, namely letters, postcards, printing and reading matters for blind people. With the development of the socialist construction and improvement in cultural level and frequent social contacts, letter service volume saw a greater development' In 1949, the letter service volume reach only 0.5987 billion pieces, and the letter service volume amounted to I billion pieces in 1954, and reached 1.6 billion pieces by 1957, 2.6 times of that ill 1949.

Uniform rate system for postage of postal letters in P.R. China was carried out. In December, 1949, the Central Finance and Economic Committee of the Government Administration Council made a decision that postage paid for inland mutually posted ordinary mail would be formulated by taking 12 liang (one jin was of 16 liang at that time) of millet as standard for every 209, and stipulated that the postage would be adjusted once when the price of millet rose and fell by 20-25%. In January, 1950, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications stipulated that postage for postcard was the half of that for ordinary mail, ' the registration fee was three times of that for ordinary mail, the postage for registered express mail was four times of that for ordinary mail, the postage for newsprint printing matters would be formulated at the rate of respective 80% and 90% of seven average social freight of railway, thick, horse-drawn carriage, packhorse, manpower, porter, civilian ship and cab, and the postage for reading matters for blind men would be charged at 50% of that for the printing matters.

B. Parcel service

Parcel delivery business

In the years just following the founding of P.R. China, the postage for parcels was formulated according to the old system and by distance of mail parcels, which was called as "one place-one postage system". There were more than 2000 parcel postage examples in total in the whole country' The formalities for one place-one postage method was very tedious and complicated. To overcome this problem, a reform on parcel postage was carried out in January 1958, and the whole country was divided into over 200 parcel fee-charging areas taking the municipalities directly under the Central Government, provincial capitals and seats of prefectures as the center. In light of administrative divisions and economic and communications conditions, one-area-one-postage system was put into effect. The parcels posted between two areas, irrespective of actual distance of mail routes, were charged at the same standard rate. Meanwhile, postage for parcels was divided into two categories of ordinary parcels and air parcels, and express parcel would be charged for additional 50%. Thus, postage standards were greatly simplified, and the formulation and accounting of the postage was easy to operate. This method was in conformity with the principle of progressive postage system, and basically remained unchanged since 1958.

With the development of national economy and increasing contacts and improvement in living standard of the People, the parcel service saw a great Progress. The parcels amounted to 2'771 million pieces in 1949, and by 1957 parcels topped 25.175 million pieces, nine times of those in 1949.

C. Postal remittance and savings service

After the founding of P.R. China, the People's Postal Administration of China continued to handle remittance service. The state stipulated that "banks would be oriented by developing remittance between industrial and commercial businesses, and post offices be oriented by developing individual remittance". In December,1949, the Finance and Economic Committee of the Central Government made a decision that "postal money remittance would be focused on handling mall of reactance, and some regions and cities could expand remittance amount subject to approval by banks". The Postal Administration engaged in its business in accordance with this principle.

As from November, 1950, all banks generally reduced their exchange rate, the post offices could not maintain their costs at the remittance fee that they charged for at the bank's exchange rate, therefore, after joint consultation, the People's Bank of China and the Directorate General of Posts, MPT decided that the money order service handled independently by post offices was changed into agency service authorized by banks, and postal money order service was still be operated in the name of post offices, but post offices were under the guidance of banks in service policy and operation methods, and the portion that expenditure exceeded their income would be compensated by banks. In January,1953, in light of the change in financial structure of the country, the head-office of the People's Bank of China and the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications made a decision to resume the remittance services of banks and post offices into respective independent operations and made an adjustment of the principle of their division of service; remittance from industrial and commercial sectors would be handled by banks, and individual remittance be handled by post offices. Postal money remittance service in China enjoyed a great progress with the development of national economy.

After acing over the postal savings Bureau of Chinese Postal Administration, the P.R. China post started its service under unified guidance of the People's Bank of China. In 1950, according to the instructions of the Finance and Economic Committee of the Central Government, Directorate General of Postal Savings and Remittance was revoked and the saving service was changed into the agency service of post offices. In September, 1953, all the savings services were divided into bank agencies, and postal savings service came to an end.

D. Newspapers and periodicals subscription and distribution service

After the founding of the PRC, newspapers and periodicals played a very important role in publicizing the state's general and specific policies, strengthening the contacts between the government and people, organizing and pushing forward the work in all aspects. In old days, and newspaper offices had its own distribution system, newspapers and periodicals were sent or distributed by newspaper offices or newspaper-peddlers. Yet such distribution form could not meet the needs of reconstruction and development of P.R. China. No newspaper office could distribute newspapers and periodicals to the vast countryside, mountain areas and frontier regions. That each newspaper office had its own distribution system not only caused the waste of manpower and material resources, but was impracticable. In December, 1949, the national newspaper-manager meeting and the first national postal conference were held in Beijing. Being approved by the Government Administration Council of the Central People's Government of the PRC, taking the experience of "integrating posting and distribution" in the old liberated areas, it was decided to hand over the task of newspapers distribution to post offices' and integrate posting with distribution.

On February 13, 1950, "an Agreement on Newspapers Subscription and Distribution" was signed between the People's Daily Agency and Directorate General of Posts, Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. According to this agreement, the subscription and distribution service was handed over to post offices, and subscription and distribution organizations of newspaper offices were merged into post offices at different levels. From then on, all the newspapers published in different areas and in differed sectors were also distributed by post offices gradually. Exception for restricted publications, all other newspapers distributed publicly all over the country were distributed by post offices successively. On December 28, 1952, Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, together with the General Publishing Bureau, made a decision to hand over the magazine distribution by all bookstores to post offices. Periodicals distribution sectors of Xinhua bookstores also merged with post offices. UP to then, the work of "integrating posting and distribution" all over the country had been completed.

The service system of "integrating posting with distribution', was an characteristic of contemporary China Post. Newspapers and periodicals ~ be timely and must be distributed to the readers' hands in the shortest time. Post departments with the advantage of having many spots and long lines, involving vast aspects, its post offices spreading all over the country and its postal networks radiating in all directions, which Promoted the newspapers and periodicals subscription and distribution become ideal distribution channels. According to the statistics, there were 140 kinds of newspaper distributed in 1950 and 2.19 million copies per issue. While in 1957, there were 3027 kinds and 32.6 million copies per issue. The rate of distribution fee was reduced to 25% from 40-50% during the time when newspaper offices made publication or entrusted private newspaper offices and peddlers did selling.