Getting a comprehensive look at China's whole-process people's democracy

By Yan Bin
0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, June 6, 2023
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A group picture taken at the front of the building of the Beijing Municipal People's Congress on May 31, 2023. [Photo courtesy of Global Young Leaders Dialogue (GYLD)]

A group of young leaders from various countries across the globe attended the the second edition of the international youth salon, "A Closer Look at Whole-process People's Democracy Through Beijing's Practice," which commenced on May 31. They visited the Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal People's Congress in Tongzhou district, Beijing, and had roundtable talks with the representatives of the committee to get to know the working mechanisms of people's congresses in China.

Liu Jun, deputy director of the Research Office of the Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal People's Congress, introduced the concept of whole-process people's democracy and Beijing's specific practices of the system of people's congresses in the new era, which aroused a warm response among the foreign youth representatives.

Elsbeth van Paridon, a sinologist and journalist from the Netherlands, showed great interest in the age composition of deputies to the Beijing Municipal People's Congress. 

"It is an important thing to have ordinary people in the room, and I think China did a good job in its whole-process people's democracy," Elsbeth said.

Zoon Ahmed shares her thoughts about China's development of whole-process people's democracy, May 31, 2023. [Photo courtesy of GYLD]

"I realize that many parts come together to create a space where genuine feedback and long-term perspectives are valued to create a society that is really leading globally," noted Zoon Ahmed, a Pakistani researcher at Tsinghua University who has spent eight years living in Beijing.

Zoon was quite impressed by how fast China has developed, saying, "Good governance is about critical thinking and engaging and empowering people. I do wish more and more people would come together to understand China's journey and tell China's stories in a more panoramic way." 

"I believe this is the first time that a local congress has brought international young generations together to get a comprehensive view at how China's whole-process people's democracy works at different levels, which is a quite valuable and motivated exploration," said Dr. Miao Lu, co-founder and secretary-general of the Center for China and Globalization (CCG).

The event not only focused on introducing the system of people's congresses but also on helping attendees to understand the working mechanisms at the community level to show a true and comprehensive image of China.

Community workers at Zaoyingbeili Community share their work experience with young international leaders in Chaoyang district, Beijing, May 31, 2023. [Photo courtesy of GYLD]

Bai Guangji, Party secretary of Zaoyingbeili Community, and his co-workers showed their daily work procedures and dozens of working WeChat groups to the international visitors, elaborating on how to use social media applications to implement the instructions and policies from their superiors and collect public opinions to form new proposals.

Through the concrete practice of whole-process people's democracy at the community level, all the participants of the event got a comprehensive look at China's democracy.

Itunu Grace Ishola, a Nigerian student at Peking University, said that the activity really provided a lively example of China's whole-process people's democracy and helped her learn about China's democracy from the Chinese perspective.

The international youth salon is an exchange activity carried out under the framework of the Global Young Leaders Dialogue (GYLD) project, aiming to create opportunities for international youth to fully understand whole-process people's democracy in China.

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