On the afternoon of May 11, a delegation from the Movement of Entrepreneurs and Businessmen – Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan (UzLiDeP), the largest party in the Legislative Chamber, visited the Nanmofang Township Legislative Liaison Station in Chaoyang District, Beijing, to gain firsthand experience of China’s whole-process people’s democracy at the primary level.

The delegation visits Nanmofang Township Legislative Liaison Station in Chaoyang District

People’s democracy of the truest nature

In July 2021, the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress of Chaoyang District was designated as a local legislative outreach office. Over the past two years, it has organized nearly 50,000 people to participate in legislative opinion solicitation activities. Upon learning that the Legislative Affairs Commission of the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee has established 45 national-level and more than 6,500 provincial and municipal-level legislative liaison stations, Nasimjon Alimov, Head of the Political Education Center of the UzLiDeP, said that the primary-level legislative liaison stations serve as a bridge for people to express their opinions, and for the ruling party and legislators to directly hear the voices of the public. This kind of direct communication enables people to participate in the national legislative process and social governance more actively, with their concerns being promptly and properly addressed. This truly reflects the concept of whole-process people’s democracy.

The delegation visits the Office of Deputies to the Nanmofang Township People’s Congress

Upon entering the Office of Deputies, members of the delegation were immediately drawn to the informative and detailed displays on the walls. The performance records of 72 deputies from the city, district, and township levels were clear at a glance, along with 11 liaison stations for primary-level deputies and 20 liaison points for enterprise deputies. The delegation also saw the opinions on the revision of laws and regulations, such as the draft of the Patriotic Education Law of the People’s Republic of China and the draft of the Financial Stability Law of the People’s Republic of China. Learning that seven of the 131 locally collected suggestions were adopted to varying degrees by the current NPC Standing Committee, the delegation spontaneously applauded in response.

The discussion meeting

At the subsequent discussion session, Chen Hongzhi, Director of the Standing Committee of Chaoyang District People’s Congress, presented a detailed overview of the system of people’s congresses, the practice of whole-process people’s democracy, and the duties fulfilled by deputies at all levels. Afterwards, the delegation engaged in lively exchanges and raised quite a number of questions on relevant work.

Aktam Akhmadovich Khaitov, Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis and Chairman of the UzLiDeP, raises questions

Willingness to strengthen exchanges and mutual learning

Aktam Akhmadovich Khaitov, Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis and Chairman of the UzLiDeP, stated, “Uzbekistan consists of 14 administrative units, and representatives from 12 regions are present today. We observed how deputies of people’s congresses fulfill their duties, listen to and address people’s concerns, and collect public opinions and suggestions.” He also expressed his eagerness to learn from Beijing’s relevant experiences.

Bakhtiyor Sultonnazirovich Yakubov, Deputy Head of the Delegation and Deputy Chairman of the UzLiDeP, noted that the visit provided valuable insights into the philosophy of putting the people first. As Uzbekistan also has voter reception stations, he expressed hope for more exchanges and mutual learning of governance philosophy and practices with the Communist Party of China.

(Edited based on information from Chaoyang District)