BEIJING, Nov 25(ABC): Rounds of applause and laughter filled a meeting room in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region’s Minzhu Village, or literally “Democracy Village” in English, as Zhang Sanming returned to his hometown.
Zhang, the Party chief of the village and also a delegate to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), shared his experience at the grand congress in Beijing and discussed with his fellow villagers plans for future development.
WHOLE-PROCESS PARTICIPATION
In recent years, Minzhu has mobilized villagers to participate in managing village affairs and the whole process of Party affairs, while the major issues and accounts of the village have been made public and placed under supervision.
“Only when the people are fully informed and activated in major and minor issues can there be lasting enthusiasm to jointly build, govern, and share,” according to Zhang.
Noting that the report to the 20th CPC National Congress laid out plans for improving primary-level democracy, Zhang said he felt obligated to turn their organizational and governance strengths into capabilities and results in management to achieve greater stability on the journey toward common prosperity.
According to the report, primary-level democracy is an important manifestation of whole-process people’s democracy.
INSTRUMENT TO DELIVER
In China, democracy is not an ornament to be put on display but an instrument for addressing the issues concerning the people.
In Deqing County, Zhejiang Province, about 30,000 pupils’ napping at school had long been a concern to their parents, as the children could only lay on their faces on the desks to rest after lunch.
But not anymore. Pupils now have foldable desks and chairs, as well as nap mats. It is the result of a decision made at a meeting of the people’s congress of the county.
The practice of making decisions on issues important to people’s lives by ballot among deputies to people’s congresses has been implemented across Zhejiang Province, from the city to the township level. It has ensured that the people make their own decisions on their affairs.