Back to school for county officials to strengthen CPC ruling(2)

"They face problems from grassroots, such as villages and communities, directly, but also have to consider the overall situation," said Dai Yanjun, a professor with the Party School of the CPC Central Committee.

Some Party chiefs complained they spent too much time coordinating. "This is due to mounting pressure from the upper level," Dai said. "Local officials were hopping from one dinner table to another so as to 'welcome the inspectors from different departments', without enough time to study and delve into the problems from the grassroots."

HOPE AND CHALLENGE

Party chiefs attending the seminar pinned their hope on this ongoing program.

"We had classes both in the morning and the afternoon everyday. We even take elective classes in the evening," Xu Rui said, "what we studied covers a wide range of areas including politics, economics, culture, history and foreign affairs."

Besides taking classes, the Party chiefs have been also encouraged to organize group discussions and forums, according to Xu.

Through the study, he hopes to be find inspiration for his future carreer.

Ruijin, a county-level city, is one of the earliest centers of revolutionary activity for the Communist Party of China (CPC). However, it now ranks as one of the poorest places in the country, plagued by a lack of arable land.

"From a revolutionary base, I feel under pressure to inherit the legacy of the forerunners and close the gap between the city and the economically developed areas," said Xu Rui.

Yan Liang, the Party chief of Wengyuan County under Shaoguan City in Guangdong Province, is also looking forward to the seminar. "It is necessary for the county-level officials to get some training once in a while, since it can push us to think about the questions -- Who we are working for? What should we do? How can we do it well?"

Wengyuan county, covering some 2,174 square kilometers, is about two times the size of the New York City.

He said the most urgent task in front of him is to develop the local economy and improve people's livelihood, since the county, located in a mountainous area, has been lagging behind economically.

A grave problem the local government suffers from is a shortage of budget. "For example, we have raised the income of certain village officials during the past few years, while those whose income was left unchanged have shown dissatisfaction," he said.

"Another challenge is to deal with the relationship between economic development and social stability," he said.

The county has been building flood walls alongside the waterways as part of its water conservancy project. However, the construction was forced to stop halfway after villagers opposed land acquisition and house demolition plans required by the project, according to Yan.