Society

Student goes to micro blog to announce political ambitions

By Shi Yingying (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-05-31 07:11

SHENZHEN, Guangdong - With fewer than 10 days to his 18th birthday, Liu Ruoxi, a student at Shenzhen Senior High School, promised himself a special gift by letting his political intentions be known to the public - he will run for a seat on the local legislature.

Liu Ruoxi, a 17-year-old high school student in Shenzhen, declares his intention to take part in elections for the local legislature. Photo from Daily Sunshine

"I've decided to run to be a deputy of the Shenzhen Futian district People's Congress when I become an adult Chinese citizen, which will happen in fewer than 10 days," Liu said. "My campaign philosophy is to represent my constituent's interests and act as their mouthpiece."

Liu posted a statement on Weibo.com, a Twitter-like micro blog in China, on May 27, the same day he made his pledge. "A more detailed campaign platform will be posted online on June 8 - my birthday," he said.

When asked how he got the idea of running for the seat, Liu simply said the law allows every Chinese citizen to take part in elections.

"Many people may say my biggest disadvantage will be my age and my slim stock of experience," he said. "But I would say part of the reason I'm doing this, rather than to win the election, is to try to make people more aware of the importance of voting."

Before deciding to run for the seat, Liu spent much of his spare time visiting government websites and studying election laws.

"Basically, there are two ways to be nominated," Liu said. "One can be recommended by authorities from the local People's Congress or one can be recommended by more than 10 voters. I'm relying on the latter method. I will try to get support from even more voters - the more, the better."

By the end of Monday, staff from the Futian district People's Congress said they had not received information about Liu Ruoxi's plan to run for a seat on the legislative body. A staff member who asked to be granted anonymity said "any eligible citizen is welcome to join the election".

Liu said he would like to consult the Futian district People's Congress before taking further steps, but "its phone lines are always occupied".

Other observers expressed a neutral view or criticism of Liu's decision. Wang Lianxi, from the Party School of the CPC Shenzhen committee, regards it as a whim that was likely influenced by the Internet.

"I heard that (local People's Congress) candidates have been running their campaign using Weibo lately - that might pique students' curiosity and make them want to have a try," Wang said.

"Yet, high school students aren't ready to take part in politics and it's very likely that they won't be able to perform the duties (of a member of the People's Congress)."

Liu's teachers, parents and classmates, for their part, are firmly on his side.

"I see no reason for objecting," said Li Haobin, Liu's mathematics teacher. "He's independent-mined, he's passionate about politics and social issues and he's the one, among the kids of his age, who usually dares to speak up and to act."

Liu impressed Li Haobin and his other high school teachers by refusing to give money to a designated account used to provide relief to victims of the Yushu earthquake, which struck in April 2010.

"Liu instead gave his money to an independent Hong Kong account," the teacher said. "That's something we didn't expect from someone who was 16 at the time.

"If it's our right to choose whether to give and how much to give, then I think it's also our right to choose which organization to donate our money to in order to help with disaster relief," Liu said. "I trusted certain nongovernmental organizations and religious organizations more because they were more transparent."

Liu said if he did not stay in Shenzhen, a city honored as the land of innovation, he might not able to speak out with such confidence about his ambitions. In the meantime, the young man is looking forward to being admitted to a Hong Kong university and to "studying sociology or international politics".