From 鈥榟and raisers鈥 to giving voice to people
Print Edition
鈥淣anchang Road has been turned into a cafe street, but all roadside parking slots on the street were removed last year, hurting the caterers a lot,鈥 Shi Zheng, a deputy to the Shanghai People鈥檚 Congress, the city鈥檚 legislature, wrote in a suggestion to the government ahead of the annual session of the congress, which starts tomorrow.
This, she wrote, is an example of how rigid street parking rules are turning away the customers of many small street shops, which are already struggling amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
She suggested that the government introduce 15-minute free parking for all street parking slots available, and use digital platforms to facilitate the service.
Shi, president of the workers鈥 union of Shanghai Jingao Public Transportation Co, became a deputy to the Shanghai People鈥檚 Congress in 2017. Street parking problems, which are a major concern for many residents, have been on her mind for years.
Last year, she filed a suggestion in which she called for the introduction of more temporary parking slots on minor streets. The deputy work commission of the congress forwarded her suggestion to the Shanghai traffic police.
She told Shanghai Daily that her new suggestion was the result of the event鈥檚 brainstorming with police officials.
鈥淎lthough I work for a bus company, it doesn鈥檛 mean that I have to promote public transportation all the time,鈥 she said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the expectation of residents that all kinds of mobility needs are addressed.鈥
As a member of the urban construction and environmental protection committee of the congress, Shi also conducted pre-legislation research on the taxi business last year.
The job of a legislator is so much learning by doing. Shi and her fellow deputies come from different walks of life, but they listen to various needs of the people and address them through direct access to the government or legislation. This works in a very similar way to legislatures in many other countries.
In China, becoming a deputy of the people鈥檚 congress is largely seen as an honor. The deputies are revered by people, but with their position comes more responsibility than a heightened status, which they鈥檙e well aware of.
In recent years, as an increasing number of channels to take part in the legislation process and seek engagement with the deputies on various issues are open to the public, the deputies have become more visible, dispelling the impression that they鈥檙e merely 鈥渉and raisers.鈥
People can now directly offer their suggestions on legislative matters to the legislatures through 鈥渓iaison points on legislative matters鈥 in all 16 Shanghai districts.
Last year alone, 3,103 suggestions on over 30 local laws were collected from 25 liaison points, and 354 of them were eventually written into law, according to the Shanghai People鈥檚 Congress.
Deputies regularly meet people in about 5,600 community deputy offices around the city where they take suggestions or complaints from the people and strive to address their problems.
Residents are invited to attend hearings launched at the Shanghai People鈥檚 Congress where members of the standing committee of the congress ask government representatives questions on various issues. The congress also holds open-door events in which people take the seats of the standing committee members and discuss legislative issues like lawmakers do.
In the opinion of Xu Liping, general engineer at SGIDI Engineering Consulting Group Co and a member of the committee for urban construction and environmental protection of the Shanghai People鈥檚 Congress, democracy is not a job confined to those who sit in the legislature, but rather it should be very inclusive.
鈥淎 people鈥檚 democracy works only when people have the passion, the capability, and the access to take part in the governance of our society, which can鈥檛 happen overnight,鈥 she told Shanghai Daily. In her view, the key is to ensure full knowledge of policy and legislative issues as well as full participation of the people.
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