CPPCC TV show shines a light on consultative democracy in Shanghai

A new biweekly television show featuring the work of Shanghai's municipal advisory body was launched on Sunday ahead of the opening of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Shanghai Committee's annual session on Wednesday.

In the first episode of the show, Consultation on the Front Line, broadcast by Shanghai Television, Xing Bangzhi, deputy secretary-general of the CPPCC Shanghai Committee, was invited to explain the concept of "consultative democracy" and how it works in daily life.

The CPPCC is an important means of promoting socialist democracy in China. Its members, including scholars and entrepreneurs, serve as advisers for government, legislative and judicial bodies and put forward proposals on major political and social issues. In Shanghai, over 5,000 CPPCC members represent different political parties, organizations and social sectors at the national, municipal and district levels.

The CPPCC Shanghai Committee has maintained its position at the forefront of the country in terms of collecting public opinions, its chairman, Dong Yunhu, said at the opening of the annual session.

Members submitted 1,071 proposals last year and 1,021 were accepted by government departments, meaning related issues would be tackled, he said.

"When many proposals are adopted and make an impact, they help the city's social, financial, ecological, cultural, and political construction and propel its integrated and holistic development," Dong said.

CPPCC members shoulder the responsibilities of soliciting a wide range of opinions, pooling wisdom, increasing consensus and building up synergies between the Party, the government and the people, Xing said.

"Therefore our members need to go to the front line, and to the grassroots, to reflect people's suggestions and opinions and to publicize the policies of the Party and the government," he said.

Since 2020, the CPPCC Shanghai Committee has opened work stations across the city, where members hold consultative sessions on issues of public concern.

Li Siming, chairman of JC Finance & Leasing, is one of 52 CPPCC members from the Huaihai Middle Road subdistrict station. This subdistrict is the location of the memorial of the first National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

"As the Party marked its centenary last year, the memorial received large crowds of visitors, and the nearby roads became pedestrianized and had many traffic restrictions," Li said in the show. "It was inconvenient for many local people, so I made a suggestion to open more entrances and exits in the blocked area."

The 15-minute episode also featured Wang Meihua, a CPPCC National Committee member and deputy chief engineer at Shanghai Construction Group, who has proposed adding elevators to the city's old residential buildings since 2019.

"Installing elevators is a good thing for many old people, but getting consensus is not an easy job," Wang said. "I need to keep listening to the voices from the grassroots, and find common ground for all the residents in the building."

Other suggestions by CPPCC members in the episode included helping the elderly to receive care through big data analytics, formulating standards for trucks that bring vegetables to the city, and conserving historical architecture while providing space for businesses in old blocks.

"In the coming weeks, the show will bring more front-line stories of CPPCC members consulting the people," Xing said.