Xinhua News Agency, Chengdu, March 2 Feature | “This is democracy in practice” – Nepal Congress Party cadres witnessed the whole process of people’s democracy at the grassroots level in China
Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Yang Yu Aicen
“How often are the town party committee meetings held?” “How did your town party committee members come into being?” “In what form is the town party committee meeting held?” “Are there any expert cadres among the town party committee members?” “What are the age, gender and education composition of the town party committee members?” “What is the composition of the town party committee members?”
On February 28, the atmosphere of the town party committee meeting held in Guanying Town, Wutongqiao District, Leshan City, Sichuan Province was very warm. The Nepal Congress Party Cadres Inspection Team, who came to observe China’s grassroots governance, showed a strong interest in how the Chinese grassroots Party Committee practiced people’s democracy throughout the process and carried out governance, and raised a series of questions.
At the meeting, the cadres successively studied the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech at the private enterprise symposium; conveyed and studied the spirit of the “Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Further Deepening Rural Reform and Solidly Promoting the Comprehensive Revitalization of Rural Areas”; reviewed the spirit of the Central Eight Regulations, the spirit of the Sichuan Provincial Party Committee and the Ten Regulations and the Implementation Rules; studied the construction project of Xianniaojing Village Party and Mass Service Center, and listened to the report on the construction project of Yujin Street Community Elderly Care Service Complex in Guanying Town.
The members of the town party committee talked about their feelings, suggestions, ideas and implementation around the agenda. The meetings are fulfilling and efficient.
Many members of the Nepal delegation serve in the government. In the eyes of Guanying Town cadres, their questions are very targeted and very “insiders”.
Regarding the Nepal side’s problem, Liu Chi, secretary of the Party Committee of Guanying Town, answered one by one: “According to regulations, the town party committee meeting is held at least twice a month; the town party committee members are usually party members and cadres who are trained in multiple positions and are nominated and inspected and reported to the superior party organization for review and approval, and then elected by the party members’ congress or party members’ congress at the same level; at the town party committee meeting, the ‘top leader’ speaks last according to the practice to avoid a one-man sentence…”
Members of the Nepal Expedition Team nodded frequently after hearing this.
When learning that the chairman of the National People’s Congress among the town party committee members, the Nepal cadre continued to ask: “How many National People’s Congress representatives are there in the town?” “How were they elected?” “How did the opinions of ordinary people be reflected to the government?”
Liu Chi introduced that the channels for the masses to express their opinions are very smooth now. They can submit them online through email, service hotline, and mobile application software, or report them to grassroots autonomous organizations such as communities and village committees, and can also report directly to the town government.
Keshabu Joshi, dean of Arunima College in Nepal, said that he felt the integration of the two forces of “top-down” and “bottom-up” at the meeting. China’s grassroots governments not only implement the central spirit, but also fully reflect the voices of ordinary people.
Kushum Shakiya, a professor at Tribwan University in Nepal, said a well-functioning democracy should serve all people. We see that Guanying Town cadres have many different compositions, and the topics discussed at the meeting are very pragmatic, “This is democracy in practice.” Shakiya believes that Chinese grassroots cadres strictly and faithfully implement policies from the highest levels, “this is the key to successful governance.”
According to reports, members of the Party and Government leadership team of Guanying Town have bachelor’s degree or above, and some members also have professional backgrounds such as audit, law, and medicine. The youngest member of the town party committee is just over 30 years old. Hearing this, Shuba Shakia, a professor at Tribwan University, stood up excitedly: “You have made me feel the ‘Youth Power’! You are all young, well-educated, full of energy, and capable of getting things done!”
The Nepal Congress Party Cadres Inspection Team was invited by the CPC Central Committee’s Foreign Liaison Department to Sichuan, Beijing and other places to learn about the specific practices of China’s grassroots governance and China’s entire process of people’s democracy.
[Editor in charge: Yan Yujie]
