Xiangyang legislators expand public feedback channels

Legislators in Xiangyang, Hubei province, have broadened their approach to collecting public suggestions on livelihood issues by integrating an online channel. The initiative enhances their supervisory role, enabling them to prompt government departments to address public concerns and resolve everyday challenges more effectively.

While advancing the development of six observatories established in 2024 throughout the city, the Standing Committee of the Xiangyang People's Congress, the local top legislature, partnered in March with the 12345 public hotline to solicit opinions and suggestions from all walks of life.

"With these six stations, we've been able to quickly identify personal issues reported by residents and coordinate with relevant departments for a response," said Hou Zhe, director of the congress's Social Development and Affairs Committee.

"However, these stations only reach residents nearby. To determine whether these issues are widespread and to understand the situation citywide, we need more comprehensive research," he said, highlighting the decision to expand the observatory through the hotline to gather broader public input.

By sharing data and sorting information from the six stations and the new online channel, legislators can swiftly and comprehensively understand people's concerns — such as elevator installations, peeling exterior walls and noise pollution — and then push relevant government departments and institutions to resolve these problems, according to the standing committee.

In addition to the Social Development and Affairs Committee staff, deputies to the Xiangyang People's Congress and workers from the 12345 hotline, the new channel employs more than 140 call receivers to collect data in real time and submit monthly reports.

In May, for example, residents complained via the hotline about construction barriers on a road in Fancheng district that were affecting travel. With 118 complaints recorded, the issue was reported to the standing committee, which quickly urged relevant government bodies to intervene. The barriers were soon removed, restoring the road for public use.

Simple issues will be directly referred to relevant departments for prompt resolution once understood by observation station staff and the hotline, the standing committee said.

For more complex matters, observers are authorized to conduct research and compile special reports identifying responsible departments and setting resolution timelines to prevent shirking of responsibility, it added.

The six original stations have gathered more than 400 public suggestions and facilitated over 30 face-to-face activities with residents. The hotline, described as an innovative initiative to maintain close ties with the public and gather their opinions, is expected to effectively address residents' livelihood issues and promote the city's high-quality development, the standing committee noted.