Democratic 'festivals' urged across east China county

An east China county is urging all its 1,195 villages to organize annual gatherings between officials and residents, following the trailblazing lead of one such "Cadres' Work Report Day."

Styled as a festival rather than a formal meeting, this is an initiative created by Yuejia Village of Juxian County in Shandong Province as a step toward consolidating grassroots democracy. It sees village leaders report their work while soliciting public opinions.

Yuejia ran its 13th Cadres' Work Report Day late last year, and the events have been credited with helping transform the fortunes of the village, ensuring social stability while key building projects have been steered through.

At Yuejia's last Cadres' Work Report Day, it was not hard to see local democracy in action and how this could have inspired regional authorities.

Braving the biting cold, villagers assembled to put forward suggestions aimed at improving their livelihood.

"Could you do something about the visiting youths who always come to the residential area where I live at midnight? The noise really gets on my nerves," said Li Maochang.

With great patience, Xu Chuanjiang, the secretary of the village committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), apologized to Li for the problem, adding that his team are mulling measures to tackle it.

On the back of that came the proposition of Liu Hanyuan, Li's fellow villager, asking whether he could join a monthly meeting that ostensibly allows only CPC members to discuss affairs concerning the village's development.

Again, this wish was granted -- with an explanation. Xu said that he had thought locals were too occupied by farm work to spare time for such discussions. "You are all welcome at the meeting," the secretary added.

Striking a chord with the local people, the festival has managed to build an amicable relationship between villagers and cadres, even in cases of housing demolition and land expropriation, according to Xu.

While negative attitudes toward these projects still prevail in China thanks to headlines about "nail households," those who refuse to relocate and make way for real estate development, no one in Yuejia has accused the authorities of any injustice or coercion in the process.

"We explain to the villagers about projects like housing demolition and gain their support before any work is conducted," Xu said.

In fact, village chiefs took the lead in accepting demolition of their own homes. This prompted villagers to follow them despite tangled feelings, because they "trusted that the cadres' decisions would bring better housing," said Wang Ruiping, a 68-year-old villager.

And they were right. Yuejia, once an isolated community plagued by poverty, has transformed itself into a model village boasting a cultural square, a shopping center, and an apartment complex specially designed for the elderly.

Xu said that what matters in his job is taking the lead in doing what's good for the people, with a pure heart, rather than forcing them to succumb to authority.

With the success of Yuejia, the county government is working to promote cadres' work report days across Juxian County in an attempt to ramp up grassroots democracy for better rural development, said Liu Shouliang, secretary of the county's CPC committee.

He said that the most important thing in improving public service is for leaders to listen to the ideas of the general public, while serving with sincerity.

"Only with a pure heart can we truly improve the development of China's vast rural areas," Liu believes.