An exercise in democracy
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06/12/2003
"I always felt that elections were far removed from me. But what I've learned over the past few years, thanks to improved political awareness among the public, has made me realize that the right to vote and to run as a candidate is sacred to every citizen,?reflected a 41-year-old man who had just received 1,308 votes in a landslide victory in a recent election. Wang Liang was not running for the National People's Congress. Rather, he got involved in that most grassroots of urban elections ?the municipal district election. Wang, president of a technical school in Shenzhen's Futian District, was not even an official candidate. When voters were registered ahead of the election, the 4,500 staff members and students at his school were left out due to a technical error. "But we need a voice to represent us,?he declared and persevered to make that a reality. According to current law, any political party or organization can directly nominate candidates for elections at the county level or lower. And a group of voters comprised of 10 or more people can also nominate "alternative candidates? The term "independent candidates?is not used since they do not represent specific parties competing against each other, said Zou Shubin of Shenzhen University. With the support of his school, Wang Liang campaigned actively. He distributed flyers highlighting his rural background, his education in the United States, his passion for public service and an incident when he chased down a mobile blood-donation station to give blood on a public holiday. These things may not seem that sophisticated to a seasoned political campaigner, but voters in his district were impressed. "I don't know him personally, but these anecdotes show that this man is trustworthy,?said Dong Fengqin, director of the Fumin Community Senior Citizen Centre. On May 15, Wang Liang won a place as one of Shenzhen's 174 district representatives, representing the Futian District. More importantly, his experience became one of a dozen news stories to surface about Shenzhen's community-level democratic process. Learning by doing The grassroots elections that are sweeping across China's urban and rural landscape are marked by a vibrancy and curiosity that are characteristic of a people accustomed to closed-door official selection processes. Shenzhen people seem very confident. "We're known for our booming economy, but now we're spearheading political reform. It's a shot in the arm for our city,?wrote Li Fang, a media commentator. Earlier this year, news leaked out that the municipal government was experimenting with dividing government functions into three separate branches, simulating the power divisions in Western countries. Li Fan, a legal expert, says that China's election law does not specify much in terms of what can be done in such elections. A candidate in Hubei Province raised eyebrows by riding around in a campaign vehicle making speeches. When Xiao Youmei put up the first campaign poster in Shenzhen's Luohu District, it sent shock waves across the city. "We were worried that people would accuse us of reverting to the big-character poster tradition of the 'cultural revolution??recalled Xiao's husband. Xiao did not win, because her three opponents were representing large governmental organizations, where employees typically vote for their fellow workers. But Xiao was happy to get 191 votes in the end, which was more than she expected. If elected, Xiao would most likely have been dealing with the kind of issues homeowners?associations face. Many of Shenzhen's candidates have had experience in real estate disputes in which they defend homeowners?rights and interests. Zou Jiajian, one such political aspirant, had been in the news before. In 2001, he took a real estate developer to court, accusing its management affiliate of charging unreasonably high prices while providing substandard services. He won the case, but the developer counter-sued him for damaging its reputation, asking for 10 million yuan (US$1.21 million) in compensation. Less than one week before voting day, the 47-year-old Zou realized that he could better protect homeowners?rights if elected to the position of a district representative. At that point, his only option was to run in the "Other?slot on the ballot, alongside the officially registered candidates. But his actions attracted other alternative candidates, such as Xu Bo. They both lost, but the fact that they got into the race showed that "these independent campaigns can pose a challenge to the existing system, and they signal the switch of grassroots elections from a system of confirmation to one of competition? in the words of a report from the Economic Observer. Political awareness Most of these community elections took place during the peak of the SARS crisis. But their significance was enhanced by the coincidental broadcast of a television drama around the same time. "Towards a Republic?(Zou Xiang Gong He), a 59-episode series detailing political upheaval in the late Qing Dynasty, depicted pioneers of democracy such as Dr Sun Yatsen, who preached democratic ideals and explained the intricacies of the election process. "It has been extremely enlightening, the best 'textbook?for democracy,?Xin Chaoyi, an editor with a major publishing house in Guangzhou, told China Daily. The programme's relevance was brought home to many people. Liu Kuiwen, who has been involved in two Futian District elections, reflected: "To the general public, becoming a representative is a job for officials, and politics is the job of officials. But now things are starting to change.? When Chen Huibin became a congresswoman for Shenzhen's Nanshan District, she did not expect her election to cause a public uproar. Huang Ke and 32 other voters from the Maling community in the district filed a petition to dismiss Chen for "negligence? They listed three occurrences that cast Chen in a bad light: On May 2, a big storm hit the city and a 100-metre-long wall in the community collapsed, but Chen did not arrive on the scene until three hours after she got the news; on May 8, when a SARS scare hit the neighbouring block, Chen did not turn up for a whole day; and, she failed to organize an efficient clean-up drive in the community. Such a concerted move was totally unprecedented, claimed experts, but "these voters seemed to have confused Chen's role as a neighbourhood committee director with that of a district representative,?said Dr Tang Juan of the Public Management Institute of Shenzhen University. "When these things happened, she had not yet been elected. If they were true, it meant she had not done a good job as a community leader, but the job of a people's representative is to speak for the voters rather than manage daily affairs.? While brushing aside the charges as irrelevant, experts maintained that the act itself was a significant step in the direction of political participation. Article 44 of the Election Law stipulates that in county-level and village-level elections a group of 30 or more voters can file petitions to reject an elected representative. Legal expert Li Fan, director of the World and China Research Academy and a specialist in election issues, asserted that the 33 Nanshan voters had exercised their rights according to the law. "It does not matter that the charges they put forward had loopholes; it was an exemplary step towards the building of our public representation system and is especially beneficial to the process of learning democracy.? Dr Tang agreed that the incident had a more symbolic meaning. And Chen Huibin, the target of the dismissal efforts, was diplomatic about it. "This is a normal part of the process, and it is within the voters?rights,?insisted Chen, who believed that, with voters coming from diverse interest groups, it is only natural that people will hold opposing views. "My job is to pass these opinions on to all decision-making agencies.? Chen said she had already pinpointed three public concerns amid all the things she heard. One was the lack of an adequate bus service at a certain housing project in the Maling community; second was the faulty sewage system at Kaili Garden, the residential village that is home to her 33 detractors; and third was the issue of public school services. "I've written down all the details and will present the first two in the form of proposals,?she said in a humble voice. "A people's representative should do concrete things for the residents. And I'll work to improve my skills in political participation. (HK Edition 06/12/2003 page1)
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