Better district, better life: congress goes to grassroots
By Hu Min |
December 31, 2011, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
Libraries, sanitation, schools, elderly care and transport – the bread and butter of daily life – dominated discussions during the four-day Minhang Fifth Party Congress held recently in the district.
More than 300 recently elected local lawmakers grappled with a raft of issues that directly affect the development of Minhang and the day-to-day life of its residents.
The congress is held in the district every five years. The delegates who attended were elected in October from a slate of 78,000 district candidates. Only members of the Communist Party of China are eligible to vote. The delegates, drawn from local communities, mostly reflected grassroots concerns.
Gu Hong, a delegate from Pujiang Town, suggested the government give her town priority in allocation of public services because Pujiang has been hit by a population explosion of migrants from other parts of China.
"Pujiang lacks public services such as libraries," Gu told the congress. "When residents in Pujiang apply passports or business permits, they have to go to Xinzhuang, which is not convenient."
Pujiang is in the city's Pudong area, while the other towns in Minhang are in Puxi across the river. Gu also called on authorities to reduce or exempt relocated farmers from property management fees.
Huang Peifen, a delegate from Xinzhuang, called for more renovation of residential communities for the elderly.
In some older residential areas, there are no indoor toilets in rooms and senior residents have to walk down shabby staircases to empty chamber pots, Huang said. She also said the government's online information service needs to be updated more frequently and expanded to include more material of use to the community.
Another delegate, Fu Yu from Hongqiao Town, said Minhang should cultivate more social organizations and the district government should open a weibo (the Chinese equivalent of Twitter) account to serve as an interactive communication channel between the government and the public.
"I frequently browse the official microblog opened by the Shanghai Municipal Government Information Office recently, and find it is very people-oriented," she said. "For example, it advises people how to cope with cold weather when the temperature drops." For the first time, the Minhang Party Congress invited written proposals from delegates. Of the 24 received, three won voting approval.
One of the proposals was related to strengthening the solidarity of Communist Party members. A second concerned to cultural development in Minhang, and the third addressed the management of large residential complexes.
The cultural development proposal sought more facilities, such as libraries, and events promoting the cultural identity of people in the district, including expatriates and migrants.
Yang Jizhen, a delegate from the Xinzhuang Industrial Park, said the park is home to many foreign companies, but their employees aren't interested in living in the area. Those who do live in nearby apartments still gravitate to downtown areas for their social and leisure life.
"It is imperative to raise people's cultural identity through investment in cultural resources," Yang said.
Management of large residential complexes was also a big concern.
Pan Jinping, a delegate from Pujiang Town, urged the government to step up efforts to improve health and education resources in the community.
He cited the example of the Sigao residential community, which provides low-cost housing in Pujiang Town. The complex has about 20,000 residents, but construction of schools, hospitals and transportation links has seriously lagged.
It is expected that the population of Pujiang will surpass 500,000 by 2015, but the standard of services and public facilities is still based on township standards, he said.
In the proposal, he and other delegates urged that the town government be given more power in policymaking and project approval.
The oldest delegate attending the congress was 88-year-old Fan Qinshan, who said he is proud of Minhang's development. The youngest delegate was Cao Weiwei, who was born in 1984. She said she looks forward to future development based on sciences.
Minhang's gross domestic product is expected to climb to 148.7 billion yuan this year from 136.5 billion yuan in 2010, according to a report delivered by Party Secretary Sun Chao.
More than 300 recently elected local lawmakers grappled with a raft of issues that directly affect the development of Minhang and the day-to-day life of its residents.
The congress is held in the district every five years. The delegates who attended were elected in October from a slate of 78,000 district candidates. Only members of the Communist Party of China are eligible to vote. The delegates, drawn from local communities, mostly reflected grassroots concerns.
Gu Hong, a delegate from Pujiang Town, suggested the government give her town priority in allocation of public services because Pujiang has been hit by a population explosion of migrants from other parts of China.
"Pujiang lacks public services such as libraries," Gu told the congress. "When residents in Pujiang apply passports or business permits, they have to go to Xinzhuang, which is not convenient."
Pujiang is in the city's Pudong area, while the other towns in Minhang are in Puxi across the river. Gu also called on authorities to reduce or exempt relocated farmers from property management fees.
Huang Peifen, a delegate from Xinzhuang, called for more renovation of residential communities for the elderly.
In some older residential areas, there are no indoor toilets in rooms and senior residents have to walk down shabby staircases to empty chamber pots, Huang said. She also said the government's online information service needs to be updated more frequently and expanded to include more material of use to the community.
Another delegate, Fu Yu from Hongqiao Town, said Minhang should cultivate more social organizations and the district government should open a weibo (the Chinese equivalent of Twitter) account to serve as an interactive communication channel between the government and the public.
"I frequently browse the official microblog opened by the Shanghai Municipal Government Information Office recently, and find it is very people-oriented," she said. "For example, it advises people how to cope with cold weather when the temperature drops." For the first time, the Minhang Party Congress invited written proposals from delegates. Of the 24 received, three won voting approval.
One of the proposals was related to strengthening the solidarity of Communist Party members. A second concerned to cultural development in Minhang, and the third addressed the management of large residential complexes.
The cultural development proposal sought more facilities, such as libraries, and events promoting the cultural identity of people in the district, including expatriates and migrants.
Yang Jizhen, a delegate from the Xinzhuang Industrial Park, said the park is home to many foreign companies, but their employees aren't interested in living in the area. Those who do live in nearby apartments still gravitate to downtown areas for their social and leisure life.
"It is imperative to raise people's cultural identity through investment in cultural resources," Yang said.
Management of large residential complexes was also a big concern.
Pan Jinping, a delegate from Pujiang Town, urged the government to step up efforts to improve health and education resources in the community.
He cited the example of the Sigao residential community, which provides low-cost housing in Pujiang Town. The complex has about 20,000 residents, but construction of schools, hospitals and transportation links has seriously lagged.
It is expected that the population of Pujiang will surpass 500,000 by 2015, but the standard of services and public facilities is still based on township standards, he said.
In the proposal, he and other delegates urged that the town government be given more power in policymaking and project approval.
The oldest delegate attending the congress was 88-year-old Fan Qinshan, who said he is proud of Minhang's development. The youngest delegate was Cao Weiwei, who was born in 1984. She said she looks forward to future development based on sciences.
Minhang's gross domestic product is expected to climb to 148.7 billion yuan this year from 136.5 billion yuan in 2010, according to a report delivered by Party Secretary Sun Chao.
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