Beijing Residents Hold First Democratic Election of Community

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, August 18, 2002

Beijing Residents Hold First Democratic Election of Community

People living in a downtown Beijing residential area cast their votes Saturday in the first ever democratic multi-candidate election of a local community chief and officials.

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People living in a downtown Beijing residential area cast their votes Saturday in the first ever democratic multi-candidate election of a local community chief and officials.

More than 2,700 residents from 1,145 households in the Jiudaowan Community of Beijing's Dongcheng District gathered at a nearby school playground early Saturday morning to elect a new director of the Neighborhood Committee and also deputies to the Community Congress, both self-governing bodies for Chinese city dwellers.

Neighborhood committees in cities have similar roles and functions to the village committees in China's vast rural areas. However, while the Chinese government has exerted efforts to promote free and direct village elections in the past dozen years,the election of urban community officials was usually conducted bya few "representatives of residents".

"The direct and multi-candidate election in urban communities is an effective way to strengthen the building of socialist democracy at the grassroots level," said Ma Zhongliang, vice president of the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences.

Officials with the Dongcheng District Civil Affairs Department said that Jiudaowan, a typical Beijing community in terms of its environment and population density and structure, was selected as a trial area before the adoption of such elections citywide.

The ballot casting and vote counting lasted all day with the final result being announced at 9:15 p.m. Cao Jianjun, director ofthe last Neighborhood Committee, was re-elected and 21 others wereelected into the new Community Congress.

The 120-strong migrant population in the community also participated in the election. Two migrant residents were candidates for the Community Congress deputyship and 74 people whoare above age 18 and have resided in Jiudaowan for more than one year were given voting rights.

"I was surprised and honored. Beijing people really don't regard us as outsiders," said 33-year-old Liu Guijiao from centralChina's Henan Province, after winning a seat in the election.

Liu has been running a grocery store in the community for nine years, and her husband and mother both cast their votes on Saturday.

"My family and I will definitely work together with other residents for a better community and a better Beijing," said an emotional Liu.

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