Uncovering sentiment at the grassroots
April 28, 2012, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
IN Maqiao Town, a weekly grassroots meeting between villagers and local public officials is provoking some lively discussions.
"Villagers now don't need to travel to centralized town sites to voice complaints or receive information pertinent to their lives," said Xu Xiaoyan, Party secretary of Jinxing Village in Maqiao. "And officials get the opportunity to find out what concerns people. Though perhaps rustic, this is an effective communication channel."
The village has about 1,400 people, and attendees at the meetings are mainly seniors because the sessions are held every Tuesday morning.
On one Tuesday in April, the meeting was held in the living room of villager Jiang Mingchang. About 40-plus people attended.
They started the session by singing folk songs. Yao Huogen, manager of the Lijiang Co, a collective of the village, gave health tips for spring, discussed how to prevent falls and outlined the village's steps to crack-down on illegal structures.
Then he asked villagers for their suggestions on how to improve their environment.
"The foul smell of the village ditch is becoming horrible, and we are tired of waiting for it to be cleaned out," one man said loudly.
Yao replied he would forward the complaint to relevant authorities when he returned to his office and would have a solution to the problem at the next meeting. He takes any and all suggestions and complaints back for discussion at higher levels.
About 40 minutes later, discussions ended and attendees started watching a video on how to live healthier lives.
There are five such weekly groups held in the village, involving more than 200 people. About 80 percent of attendees are people 60 years or older.
Such educational meetings were once held in the seniors' activity center, but that didn't prove successful.
Many seniors complained that the meetings were boring, and the number of participants dropped dramatically, according to Xu. By 2007, virtually no one was showing up.
Officials decided to move the meetings to villagers' homes, and attendance revived. No longer are the meetings only one-sided educational sessions. They now cover a wide-range of topics related to village life.
Information gleaned at the grassroots is taken back for processing. For relatively small stuff, like minor repair of facilities and environmental improvements, it takes about a week to come up with solutions. For larger issues involving construction, more time is needed, but villagers are given a weekly progress report, Xu said.
Nearly 90 percent of suggestions and complaints have been addressed, Xu said.
"We are happy that our opinions are taken into consideration," said a villager surnamed Zhang.
In 2010, authorities from the town wanted to upgrade an old public toilet in the village. Most villagers supported the idea, but one woman surnamed Yang, whose home was near the toilet, said she was concerned about the smell if the toilet was expanded.
The next meeting was held in Yang's home, where the toilet was discussed. Authorities promised that they would ensure a clean, odor-free environment around the toilet. If Yang wasn't satisfied, they said, she had only to let them know. Yang was happy with the outcome.
Drainage almost always crops up in the weekly discussions. One year, many homes were flooded during a downpour. At the weekly discussions, improving the drain system became a hot topic. Many villagers urged officials to take immediate action.
However, it turned out that fixing the drains was complicated by the fact that 13 households had built illegal structures that would impede the work. Residents joined hands in persuading those who built the illegal structures to tear them down for the benefit of everyone in the village. It was done in a way to pacify the structure owners, not alienate them. In a month, the whole controversy was resolved peacefully.
"Officials should be close to the public, and people should have rights to be informed, to participate, to decide and to monitor," Xu said. "Anything can be put on the table for discussion."
"Villagers now don't need to travel to centralized town sites to voice complaints or receive information pertinent to their lives," said Xu Xiaoyan, Party secretary of Jinxing Village in Maqiao. "And officials get the opportunity to find out what concerns people. Though perhaps rustic, this is an effective communication channel."
The village has about 1,400 people, and attendees at the meetings are mainly seniors because the sessions are held every Tuesday morning.
On one Tuesday in April, the meeting was held in the living room of villager Jiang Mingchang. About 40-plus people attended.
They started the session by singing folk songs. Yao Huogen, manager of the Lijiang Co, a collective of the village, gave health tips for spring, discussed how to prevent falls and outlined the village's steps to crack-down on illegal structures.
Then he asked villagers for their suggestions on how to improve their environment.
"The foul smell of the village ditch is becoming horrible, and we are tired of waiting for it to be cleaned out," one man said loudly.
Yao replied he would forward the complaint to relevant authorities when he returned to his office and would have a solution to the problem at the next meeting. He takes any and all suggestions and complaints back for discussion at higher levels.
About 40 minutes later, discussions ended and attendees started watching a video on how to live healthier lives.
There are five such weekly groups held in the village, involving more than 200 people. About 80 percent of attendees are people 60 years or older.
Such educational meetings were once held in the seniors' activity center, but that didn't prove successful.
Many seniors complained that the meetings were boring, and the number of participants dropped dramatically, according to Xu. By 2007, virtually no one was showing up.
Officials decided to move the meetings to villagers' homes, and attendance revived. No longer are the meetings only one-sided educational sessions. They now cover a wide-range of topics related to village life.
Information gleaned at the grassroots is taken back for processing. For relatively small stuff, like minor repair of facilities and environmental improvements, it takes about a week to come up with solutions. For larger issues involving construction, more time is needed, but villagers are given a weekly progress report, Xu said.
Nearly 90 percent of suggestions and complaints have been addressed, Xu said.
"We are happy that our opinions are taken into consideration," said a villager surnamed Zhang.
In 2010, authorities from the town wanted to upgrade an old public toilet in the village. Most villagers supported the idea, but one woman surnamed Yang, whose home was near the toilet, said she was concerned about the smell if the toilet was expanded.
The next meeting was held in Yang's home, where the toilet was discussed. Authorities promised that they would ensure a clean, odor-free environment around the toilet. If Yang wasn't satisfied, they said, she had only to let them know. Yang was happy with the outcome.
Drainage almost always crops up in the weekly discussions. One year, many homes were flooded during a downpour. At the weekly discussions, improving the drain system became a hot topic. Many villagers urged officials to take immediate action.
However, it turned out that fixing the drains was complicated by the fact that 13 households had built illegal structures that would impede the work. Residents joined hands in persuading those who built the illegal structures to tear them down for the benefit of everyone in the village. It was done in a way to pacify the structure owners, not alienate them. In a month, the whole controversy was resolved peacefully.
"Officials should be close to the public, and people should have rights to be informed, to participate, to decide and to monitor," Xu said. "Anything can be put on the table for discussion."
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