On March 4th, 2024, the AU Peace and Security Council held a meeting to discuss support for SAMIDRC and how to assist the mission with resources from the African community and other partners.
Dr. Vincent Biruta, Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, wrote a letter to the AU on March 3rd, 2024, conveying Rwanda’s concerns despite not being invited to the meeting.
Minister Biruta informed the AU Commission that the integration of SAMIDRC forces with the military coalition fighting for the DRC government poses a security threat to Rwanda.
He highlighted that this coalition includes groups tainted by genocide ideology such as FDLR, Wazalendo, Burundian forces, European mercenaries, and private military contractors, including one associated with the former ‘Blackwater’, as reported by a United Nations expert panel in December 2023.
Biruta argued that SAMIDRC, by conducting operations within this coalition, cannot replace political dialogue obstructed by the DRC government. Thus, he urged the African Union to neither recognize nor support SAMIDRC.
He reminded the AU Commission of the conflict’s history since July 1994, when former government officials involved in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and Interahamwe fled to then Zaire (now DRC), where they were armed and regrouped, forming FDLR with intentions to destabilize Rwanda, continuing to spread genocide ideology in the DRC.
Biruta pointed out that this ideology led to atrocities against Congolese Tutsis, resulting in killings and hundreds of thousands fleeing to Rwanda and other regional countries.
He expressed that the DRC government has consistently rejected dialogue as a solution, opting for military action instead, including expelling East African Community (EAC) forces that were sent to cease hostilities.
Furthermore, Biruta revealed a hostile intent by FDLR, DRC President Félix Tshisekedi, and Burundi’s Evariste Ndayishimiye to overthrow the Rwandan government, citing their public declarations and cooperation in the ongoing conflict in the DRC, which also involved collaboration with the armed group CNRD-FLN.
He lamented the international community’s neglect of the root causes of the conflict, including support for groups spreading genocide ideology, failure to address the grievances of Congolese Tutsis by the DRC government, and reluctance to repatriate its citizens who sought refuge in the region, including over 100,000 in Rwanda.
Biruta warned that assistance to SAMIDRC from the AU and partners could escalate the conflict and support the DRC government’s refusal to resolve the conflict through peaceful dialogue.
He urged the AU Commission’s Chairperson to exercise his authority to press the DRC government towards peace talks, following the Nairobi and Luanda dialogues.
Finally, Biruta called on the AU Peace and Security Council members to visit the Great Lakes region to witness the reality on the ground and ensure they are informed of the true nature of the conflict, assuring the AU Commission’s President of Rwanda’s readiness to contribute towards finding a solution.
The Guardian reported that these amendments were passed by over 100 members, predominantly from the Labour Party, which opposes the government.
In December 2023, the UK and Rwanda governments signed this revised agreement after the Supreme Court ruled that reallocating migrants to Rwanda violates their rights, indicating that upon arrival, they could face the risk of refoulement.
The updated project proposed that no court could prevent the implementation of these agreements, but rather the members of the Parliament would have the final say.
Parliamentarians highlighted the need for the program to comply with the law, arguing that it should not be the Parliament’s role to declare Rwanda as safe but rather a matter for the courts, which the Government opposed.
They also pointed out that although the revised agreement mentions measures to ensure migrants’ rights are respected, these measures are incomplete and should be implemented beforehand.
Debate on this program within the Parliament will continue until 6th March 2024.
They believe this project will combat activities that destroy the park, such as cutting down trees for firewood and other purposes.
This was discussed on February 29, 2024, during the official launch of the project, which aims to engage in various activities focused on helping the local community by planting trees mixed with crops. This initiative is intended to protect the Nyungwe National Park and address climate change issues.
The coordinator of the IPFG organization, which advocates for family welfare and will implement the ‘The Nyungwe Agroforestry’ project, Faustin Kanani, stated their goal is to provide the local communities living around the park with alternatives to what they previously sought within the park, such as firewood. They plan to plant these crop friendly trees over a span of 20 years.
He mentioned, “We will plant trees mixed with crops, including fruit trees and traditional trees. About two and a half million trees will be planted, including avocados, oranges, lemons, grevilleas, and others, to provide the residents with firewood, timber, branches for bean and pea stakes, and other needs they used to seek in Nyungwe, which led to its degradation.”
He also stated that the local residents would be taught modern farming techniques to increase productivity. The leaders of the Nyamagabe and Nyaruguru districts, where the project will be implemented, said it would assist the local communities, including land improvement and terracing, to help them increase their yields.
The Mayor of Nyamagabe, Hildebrand Niyomwungeri, said, “Residents will be equipped with methods for better farming, where their fields will be terraced to increase crop yield.”
Adelphine Niyirema, from Buruhukiro sector in Nyamagabe, who runs a nursery for various trees, told IGIHE that she is hopeful for employment as she will be paid for the seedlings she provides.
She said, “I will find work in nurturing the tree seedlings needed, which in itself will provide me with significant income. I believe this project will aid in our development.”
The project is expected to cost over Rwf5 billion and will include agreements with the local residents to not harvest the trees before 20 years.
Over 5,000 legislators and political advisors gather in Beijing for the sessions of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
The gathering is more than a mere legislative exercise. It represents China’s brand of democracy, featuring the Party’s leadership, the people running the country, and law-based governance.
Some Western observers often overlook or ignore the extensive consultation involved. Opinions from diverse groups — including experts, entrepreneurs and netizens — are solicited through various channels for the government work report before the NPC’s annual session.
The Great Hall of the People echoes with diverse voices channeled through legislators and political advisors. This inclusive approach is seen as the hallmark of a functional democracy. Whole-process people’s democracy is a true democracy that works.
In response to suggestions and proposals raised during last year’s “two sessions,” the State Council introduced over 2,000 policies and measures, addressing key economic and social challenges. The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, for instance, acted on 962 suggestions and proposals, leading to substantial employment and entrepreneurship initiatives.
China is also innovating in terms of democratic participation. Last year, the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee expanded its local legislative outreach offices, ensuring direct representation of local voices in national lawmaking.
Public engagement in the drafting of laws is evident, with draft laws open for public comment through the website of the NPC in 2023.
NPC deputies address diverse issues, from local infrastructure needs to industry development, enhancing citizens’ sense of happiness and fulfillment. The CPPCC is an integral part of China’s system of multiparty cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. It promotes unity and strengthens multiparty cooperation.
China’s approach to democracy emphasizes people-centered development and ensures people take part in democratic elections, consultations, decision-making, management, and oversight.
China’s approach to democracy contributes to maintaining unity and stability and achieving economic growth, in contrast to the political and social divides in some Western nations.
According to a survey by France-based consulting group Ipsos last year, approximately one in two people in countries including the United States and Britain are dissatisfied with the way democracy is working in their countries.
No democratic model is universal or perfect, nor is democracy a once-and-for-all cause. The political system that suits a country best is the most appropriate. China’s creation of its own democratic system has explored a new path for the development of human democracy.
As the myth of Western democratic supremacy is fading, China’s whole-process people’s democracy offers a distinct perspective on governance and alternative insights for global development.
The protesters carried signs calling for the Democratic Republic of Congo’s government and the international community to put an end to the genocide being perpetrated against their relatives.
Some signs bore messages such as “We condemn the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo, We condemn Burundi, we condemn SADC, we condemn FDLR.”
Albert Methode Nsengamungu, the manager of the Kiziba camp, expressed that the protest was against the killings of Tutsis in Congo. He stated, “This genocide being committed by the Congolese government of Kinshasa involves killing Tutsis in North Kivu, in Ituri. Today, we strongly condemn the Kinshasa government that continues to kill our relatives, as we ourselves have been in exile for a long time and are also suffering.”
Nsengamungu mentioned that countries including Burundi and those in the SADC, rather than aiding the DRC in bringing peace to their country, are instead supporting actions that harm Tutsis.
He highlighted, “The latest news we have [about the worsening situation], and even today and yesterday, the killings continue. What we ask from the international community is to speak on our behalf, to restore security in that area and ensure Tutsis are given their rights and not continue to be killed.”
Another interviewee, who has spent 28 years in exile in the Kiziba camp in Rwanda, described life in the camp as dire and lamentable, a life they do not wish upon anyone. They are protesting against President Tshisekedi and his allies, including the Interahamwe who have caused devastation.
They accused them of committing atrocities in the DRC along with President Ndayishimiye of Burundi, SADC forces, South Africa, and other malefactors.
“All of them have evil within them. They are killers whom we urge the international community to apprehend, as they were supposed to bring peace but instead they have caused the loss of lives and property, burning down entire villages. It’s genocide.”
A parent who has lived in Rwanda for 28 years discussed the challenges and the long journey they have faced, emphasizing, “Now we are denouncing the genocide being committed against Tutsis back in the DRC, our homeland. We want advocacy so that we can leave this life. We see it. People are being killed while the international community watches.”
“Here, we also have new refugees from Congo, sharing the harrowing experiences they’ve endured and the atrocities committed against them. Some are traumatized. We ask the international community to stop the killings of Tutsis in Congo.”
These refugees include individuals who have spent 28 years in Rwanda fleeing violence, as well as those born in Rwanda, all of whom express sorrow over not knowing their homeland.
As of January 2024, Rwanda hosts 135,343 refugees, including those from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The ‘Two Sessions’ are the concurrent yearly meetings of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and the National People’s Congress (NPC) usually held at the Great Hall of the People, a building in Beijing used for legislature and other ceremonial activities of national interest.
Jieyi, who was responding to journalists on the work of the CPPCC committee to promote employment, underscored that employment of the young people, especially the fresh graduates, is of great interest to the people and shed light on various measures put in place.
He explained that the CPC Central Committee and the State Council have put employment front where various localities and departments have taken multiple measures to stabilize and expand the job market.
Jieyi disclosed that in 2023, the funding provided by the government at all levels to directly support jobs and start-ups exceeded 300 billion yuan.
He cited targeted measures that were taken to support jobs for college graduates, urban and rural residents living in difficulties that saw 12.44 million new urban jobs created last year.
“This is a hard-won result. It also laid a solid foundation for providing sound policies in support of employment and sustaining the good momentum in the job market,” he stated.
Among others, Jieyi elucidated that the National Committee has worked to help stabilize and promote employment where the CPC members and relevant departments conducted in-depth research on promoting high-quality employment, analyzed trends in the job market.
Additionally, Liu Jieyi revealed that they also put forth targeted proposals for promoting jobs and entrepreneurship for college graduates, strengthening institution safeguard for flexible employment, spurring job creation through the digital economy, and fostering a more equal job market.
Besides, a lot of targeted and vision proposals have been made on all these fronts. To this end, Ninety-one proposals have been made, a lot of which were adopted as policies by party and government bodies to resolve problems on the ground.
Regarding the difficulties facing both the fresh graduates and employers, Jieyi highlighted that targeted proposals for an interconnected mechanism between universities and industries to help university graduates find jobs were put forth and adopted by competent authorities.
The CPCC has also worked to promote the implementation of relevant policies.
Through the program of serving the people, some CPCC members have engaged in the initiative to bring their businesses to the campus and help the students with counseling and career planning and provided internship and job opportunities for the students based on the needs of the companies, contributing to the implementation of employment policies.
In response to structural difficulties in both job seeking and hiring, such as the shortage of skilled workers, the CPCC members have worked with representatives of relevant sectors and departments on subjects including setting up an incentive mechanism for workers with innovative skills.
On top of this, Jieyi indicated that they also held consultative seminars and offered recommendations for improving the wage distribution mechanism for skilled talents.
As a result, he said, this enhanced the training of such talents, enforced the tiered system of vocational skills and fostered a high standard vocational education system.
Jieyi also outlined projections for 2024, where the National Committee is expected to take further steps on stabilizing and expanding employment.
“The committee will conduct research on improving the system in support of stable employment of college graduates and have consultations on improving the lifelong vocational skills training system. This will be done with a view to resolve structural job issues, thus contributing its share to implementing the employment first strategy and improving people’s well-being,” he noted.
With a population of 1.4 billion, China’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2023 posted a growth of 5.2% percent year on year, higher than the annual target of around 5 percent. It reached a record of 126.06 trillion yuan (about 17.71 trillion US dollars) last year.
The surveyed unemployment rate on average in China stood at 5.2 percent in 2023, down 0.4 percentage points from 2022.
Meanwhile, the surveyed unemployment rate of the workforce of the 16-25-29 age groups of the workforce excluding students was 14.9 percent, 6.1 percent and 3.9 percent respectively.
The report on the assessment of progress on regional integration in Africa, among other things, showed that Africa’s regional integration agenda is progressing, albeit slowly, the UNECA said late Friday. It said African countries have not met the macroeconomic convergence criteria despite progress in monetary and financial integration.
According to the report, infrastructure development through the Program for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) achieved mixed results, in which while roads and information and communications technology advanced, rail transport and energy infrastructure progressed little. It said infrastructure financing remains a challenge for Africa.
The PIDA is the strategic framework of the African Union (AU) for regional and continental infrastructure development.
The report indicated that there has been some progress in the fulfillment of the first ten-year implementation plan (2014-2023) of the AU’s 50-year continental development blueprint, Agenda 2063. The achievements include the adoption of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement and the creation of the Single African Air Transport Market.
According to the report, despite trade under the AfCFTA having officially started in January 2021, the envisaged changes in intra-African trade are yet to appear. Intra-African trade as a share of global trade of the continent declined from 14.5 percent in 2021 to 13.7 percent in 2022.
Over the same period, intra-African exports declined as a percentage of total exports from 18.22 percent to 17.89 percent, and intra-African imports declined from 12.81 percent to 12.09 percent, it said.
It also noted that the African continent has not performed well in bridging the gender digital divide, in which in 2023, about 32 percent of the female population used the internet compared with 42 percent of the male population, against a global average of 65 percent of females and 70 percent of males.
According to the report, Africa still faces a “massive annual infrastructure financing gap,” which is estimated between 130 billion and 170 billion U.S. dollars. It recommended innovative infrastructure financing instruments, which include blended finance, green, social and sustainability-linked bonds, and debt-for-nature swaps.
The report was released on the margins of this year’s edition of the UNECA’s Conference of Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, which runs from Feb. 28 to March 5 under the theme “Financing the transition to inclusive green economies in Africa: Imperatives, opportunities, and policy options,” in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.
Al-Burhan made the remarks when he received the delegation of the AU High-Level Panel on the Resolution of the Conflict in Sudan, led by Mohamed Ibn Chambas, in Port Sudan, the capital city of the Red Sea state, the sovereign council said in a statement.
“Al-Burhan expressed Sudan’s confidence in the African Union and the solutions it could offer, provided that Sudan deals with the organization as a full member,” the statement said.
Al-Burhan further stressed that the basis of the solution lies in the withdrawal of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) from the cities and villages they occupied.
For his part, Ibn Chambas stressed the need to stop the conflict and achieve stability for Sudan and its people, according to the statement.
He pointed to the AU high-level panel’s keenness and endeavor to find solutions to the crisis, noting that the panel listened to all Sudanese political forces.
On Jan. 17, the AU announced the formation of a High-Level Panel on the Resolution of the Conflict in Sudan. The panel consists of three African figures, including Ibn Chambas as chairman, besides Speciosa Wandira-Kazibwe, former vice president of the Republic of Uganda, and Francisco Madeira, former special representative of the chairperson of the Commission to Somalia, as members.
The AU had frozen Sudan’s membership after Al-Burhan declared a state of emergency on Oct. 25, 2021, and dissolved the Sovereign Council and the transitional government which was headed by the then Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.
Sudan has been witnessing deadly clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF since April 15, 2023. More than 13,000 people have been killed since the fighting broke out, according to recent estimates released by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
From group deliberations to discussions with lawmakers and political advisors, President Xi Jinping will be active in China’s democratic policy formulation and decision-making.
Xi, acting in his capacity as one of the nearly 3,000 deputies elected to the National People’s Congress (NPC), will join his fellow deputies to review and vote on the performance of the central government, the national legislature, the top court and the top procuratorate over the past year. He will also cast his vote on any new law and major revision submitted to the session for deliberation.
Throughout his career, the Chinese leader has championed people’s democracy.
“Democracy is a value shared by all humanity and an ideal that the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese people have always upheld,” said Xi, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee.
As the top leader of both the Party and the state, he has spearheaded efforts to pursue whole-process people’s democracy, a key concept put forward by Xi himself to advance China’s political landscape after seeing the shortfalls of Western democracy.
Under his guidance, China has made all-around progress in improving the institutions, standards, and procedures of socialist democracy, and advanced socialist consultative democracy by way of extensive participation.
He has strongly advocated for unity between leadership by the Party, the running of the country by the people, and law-based governance to ensure that state governance escapes the historical cycle of rise and fall.
Zhang Weiwei, director of the China Institute of Fudan University, highlighted that Chinese democracy diverges from the Western model that is centered around multi-party rotation and universal suffrage for leaders.
Chinese democracy, Zhang said, emphasizes extensive public participation, policy consultations, and the pursuit of good governance.
PEOPLE AS MASTERS
Half a month before this year’s “two sessions,” the Party’s flagship magazine Qiu Shi published an article by Xi on democracy, expounding on the people’s congress system.
“The system is an important institutional vehicle for realizing whole-process people’s democracy,” Xi wrote, drawing attention to its essence — that all power of the state belongs to the people and the people’s position as masters of the country should be protected to the greatest extent.
After re-elected Chinese president and chairman of the country’s Central Military Commission at the annual session of the national legislature in March 2023, Xi emphasized the imperative of adopting a people-centered development philosophy.
He underscored the need for ensuring equitable distribution of the gains of modernization and pledged to drive notable and substantive advancements in fostering prosperity for all.
Observers say a key feature of China’s whole-process people’s democracy is to ensure it works for the vast majority of the people instead of serving the interests of capital or the elite class.
This can be seen through Xi’s active interactions with grassroots people during the annual “two sessions” in forming policies. Over the past 11 years, he has participated in 56 deliberations and discussion sessions during the annual sessions, directly interacting with over 400 lawmakers and political advisors.
At one event in 2019, national lawmaker Li Liancheng, who was a village Party chief, articulated the “eight dreams” of Chinese farmers to Xi, emphasizing priorities such as local education for children, healthcare access, and local employment opportunities.
Xi, intimately familiar with rural affairs from his time in the countryside as an “educated youth” half a century ago, acknowledged the significance of Li’s message, saying it resonated with the aspirations of rural residents nationwide.
He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to serving the people and pledged to advance step by step toward realizing the dreams of a better life for all.
Li advocated for a more targeted approach to technological assistance, emphasizing the importance of aligning it with the real needs of villagers.
Following the meeting, government ministries conducted field research and took tailored measures in Xixinzhuang Village, Li’s hometown, to enhance agricultural technology extension services.
During his participation in discussions with political advisors in 2022, Xi listened keenly as scientist Wang Jing proposed what she called green “radar” in farm fields to detect agricultural product quality and safety issues in real time.
Within a year, her proposal was put into practice nationwide, and related regulations were introduced. The technology was included as a new clause in the revised Agricultural Products Quality and Safety Law.
Xi’s dedication to empowering the public and prioritizing the people’s needs traces back to the early days of his political career.
In October 1984, as Party chief of Zhengding County in north China’s Hebei Province, he initiated a questionnaire survey.
He stood on the streets, distributing questionnaires to residents and inviting them to sit down and have a chat.
This practice became routine and over time, evolved into the online solicitation of opinions.
Nearly four decades later, as the Party’s top leader, Xi elevated this democratic practice to a whole new level. Before the Party convened its 20th National Congress, Xi ordered a massive online public opinion solicitation to listen to the people’s views for drafting a keynote report he would deliver at the Party congress.
In a month, about 8.54 million public suggestions were collected to shape policies, spanning topics like carbon neutrality and education quality. These contributions were refined into 1,675 items and shared with the drafting group for the report.
As Xi has stated: Whether a country is democratic or not depends on whether its people are truly the masters of the country.
{{THE WHOLE PROCESS}}
In 2021, Xi convened the Party’s first-ever Central People’s Congress Work Conference. At the high-profile meeting, he expounded on the whole-process people’s democracy and made a thinly veiled criticism of the bogus democracy practiced in certain countries.
“If the people are only engaged with to solicit votes and then are left in the dark, if they must listen to grandiose election slogans but have no voice when the elections are over, or if they are only treated well by candidates during elections and are ignored after, this is not true democracy,” Xi said.
In 2019, when he first put forward “whole-process democracy,” Xi said people’s democracy is a type of whole-process democracy.
Observers say whole-process democracy involves more than just a matter of voting, rather, it is forged into every single link in the running of state power. This breaks from a solitary focus on voting and ensures the people’s rights to democratic elections, consultations, decision-making, management, and oversight.
Xi pays close attention to each of the above-mentioned democratic processes and has no time for practices that hamper democracy.
In 2014, he discussed at length a vote-buying case in the election of local lawmakers in Hunan Province. Visibly angered, Xi fired a barrage of questions: Where did the Party members go? Where did their sense of Party discipline and law go? Where did their conscience go?
Afterward, Xi referred to this case on at least two other occasions. Eventually, 467 people were held accountable.
“In this socialist country led by the CPC, all power of the state belongs to the people,” Xi told investigators of China’s top graft-buster. “Political power should never be distributed according to one’s social status, wealth, or personal relationships.”
Xi’s push for consultative democracy, which involves political consultation between the governing CPC and other political parties, dates back to his tenure as a local Party cadre.
In 1988, as Party chief of Fujian’s Ningde prefecture, Xi facilitated the establishment of the first prefectural committee of the China Democratic League, a non-CPC political party. Xi initiated regular visits by CPC leaders to members of other political parties and intellectuals, emphasizing the importance of the united front.
As a top leader, Xi still allocates time to democratic decision-making and management at the grassroots.
In February 2019, he paid a visit to an inconspicuous courtyard in a central Beijing hutong that neighbors call a “courtyard meeting hall” when residents were discussing renovating their homes.
On the whiteboard were listed suggestions raised by residents: cleaning up clutter in the courtyard; ensuring fully functional kitchens, storage, and bathrooms; and bringing in professional design teams.
“When will the renovation start?” “Are there many houses with historical and cultural value?” … Xi joined the discussion.
Hailing the courtyard meetings as a mechanism that empowered community members to discuss and decide their own affairs, Xi said, it was conducive to improving precision in community governance and services.
Xi’s pursuit of an effective oversight mechanism found its embodiment in the development of China’s first village affairs supervision committee in Houchen Village, Zhejiang Province.
The supervision committee was set up in 2004 amid escalating tensions between villagers and village officials regarding the management of a substantial land acquisition compensation totaling about 20 million yuan.
The committee captured the attention of Xi, who was then Zhejiang’s Party chief. He visited Houchen on the committee’s first anniversary, and emphasized the inevitability of its creation in a community grappling with numerous challenges.
He hailed it as the “Houchen model,” lauding its role in pioneering grassroots democratic supervision in rural areas.
Over two decades, this initiative has evolved from a localized measure to a nationally recognized policy and has taken root in over 690,000 administrative villages nationwide.
Xi said that to measure whether a country is democratic, a key element is to see whether the rules and procedures for the exercise of power are democratic, and more importantly, whether the exercise of power is genuinely subject to public oversight and checks.
{{DEMOCRACY IS NOT COCA-COLA}}
In Xi’s view, there is no uniform or single model of democracy; it comes in many forms.
The whole-process people’s democracy practiced in China is based on the country’s reality, history, and culture, and it reflects the people’s will, he said, while repeatedly stressing the effectiveness of this democracy.
Officials and scholars have gone further to explain that democracy is not Coca-Cola, tasting the same across the world as the syrup is produced in one single country.
China experts view whole-process people’s democracy as pivotal to the country’s remarkable achievements of rapid economic growth and sustained social stability.
This role is evident in the country’s formulation of effective laws to enhance governance.
In 2019, during a visit to a legislative outreach office in Shanghai, Xi talked with both Chinese and foreign residents participating in a consultation on a draft law.
Draft laws are disseminated to local legislative outreach offices to facilitate discussions among ordinary citizens, enabling their voices to be heard by the national legislature.
Xi inquired about the process of soliciting opinions on the draft law, and attentively reviewed the materials containing suggestions.
Acknowledging the office’s beneficial explorations, he encouraged the maintenance of open channels for public opinion and the enrichment of democratic mechanisms.
The preparation and implementation of five-year plans for national economic and social development are an important means by which the Party governs China.
To incorporate people’s wisdom into the blueprint, democracy was in full swing.
In 2020, during an inspection in Hunan Province before the formulation of the country’s 14th five-year plan, Xi sat down with 30 grassroots representatives at a meeting in the provincial capital to hear their views and suggestions.
During the two-hour discussion, Pan Jiuren, a rural teacher of the Yao ethnic group, candidly addressed the deficiencies in basic education in remote regions, highlighting issues such as teacher shortages and challenging working conditions.
In response, Xi acknowledged China’s progress in universalizing compulsory education since the reform and opening up. However, he underscored the escalating issue of uneven distribution of educational resources and the imperative to address this problem.
Before the five-year plan was ready for discussion at a key plenary meeting of the Party’s Central Committee, Xi hosted seven such symposiums, meeting citizens from diverse backgrounds, including migrant workers, farmers, truck drivers, legal professionals, and restaurant owners.
“China’s democracy is no verbal mirage,” said Robert Lawrence Kuhn, an American scholar and chairman of the Kuhn Foundation.
Democracy in the Party-led system involves various feedback and interactive mechanisms, especially people’s congresses at various levels, and it also entails ensuring adequate standards of living for all Chinese citizens, he said.
During the 2019 “two sessions,” a lawmaker from Gansu Province voiced local residents’ desire for an expressway to accelerate local prosperity. Turning to an official seated beside him, Xi inquired about the number of counties in the province lacking expressways.
The interactions expedited the construction of transportation infrastructure for those in need.
In November 2023, the long-awaited expressway was put into operation. One month later, after a 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck the province, the expressway became a vital lifeline for delivering aid and transporting the injured to hospitals.
This is an example of how Xi’s discussions with national legislators and political advisors during the “two sessions” concentrate on addressing challenges and proposing new methods for economic and social development.
Through these interactions, innovative governance strategies have been considered, suggested, refined, and matured.
Observant of Xi’s post-deliberation actions, keen observers note his consistent selection of provincial areas for focused on-site research, addressing specific issues raised during deliberation sessions.
In 2014, he explored the Shanghai free trade zone; in 2018, he traveled to the remote Daliang Mountain in Sichuan to inspect poverty alleviation efforts; in 2021, he examined ecological protection measures on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau in Qinghai. Many of his research priorities align with concerns voiced by national legislators and political advisors.
In navigating the complexities of governing a vast nation like China, Xi often invokes a quote from a Chinese political commentator dating back two millennia: “A bird cannot soar into the sky using only one feather, and a horse cannot gallop using only one hoof.”
This ancient wisdom underscores Xi’s belief that the collective strength of China’s over 1.4 billion citizens must be harnessed to build a strong nation and advance national rejuvenation.
The reason why China has been so successful has been its ability to enthuse, involve and mobilize the people in the political process and thereby contribute to the country’s future, said British scholar Martin Jacques.
“Too many Western politicians seem to think the point of democracy is democracy. It is not,” he said. “Ultimately, democracy is about representing the people, involving the people, and creating the best form of governance, the most acceptable and the most successful form of governance.”
