Minzhu Village’s path to grassroots democracy-Xinhua

CHONGQING, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) — Wu Chengli, 42, serves as the Party secretary and residents’ committee director of Minzhu Village Community in Chongqing. Since a national-level pilot program for urban renewal was launched in Minzhu Village in 2021, Wu, a deputy to the Chongqing Municipal People’s Congress, has convened numerous “courtyard meetings” where residents were invited to voice their opinions and suggestions.

As the program concluded on this New Year’s Day, Minzhu Village was no longer a shabby residential area, but a modern community with well-equipped public facilities, reinforced with innovative mechanisms for grassroots governance.

One example of such mechanisms is “Mailbox No. 1.” Originally set up in 1953 as a dedicated communication channel for workers of a local factory to share their ideas with the management, the mailbox has been repurposed during the 2021 urban renewal program as a link between deputies at all levels and the public.

“Mailbox No. 1” has gone way beyond a physical device, and it now symbolizes a mechanism for collecting public opinions in both tangible and digital formats.

In the meantime, a station for the practice of whole-process people’s democracy was set up to serve as an anchor point for deputies at all levels to conduct field surveys. By making frequent visits at the grassroots level, these deputies have become mobile extensions of “Mailbox No. 1.”

“Mailbox No. 1” has received thousands of suggestions from the community, many of which have been properly addressed. Most of these suggestions are highly specific but really critical to people’s daily life.

“Since it’s everyone’s business, we should discuss it with everyone,” Wu said. She added that only by earnestly listening to the voices of the people and genuinely working to address their concerns can she truly safeguard the well-being and happiness of the people.