Working to Identify the Needs of Community Residents

By protecting our homes and beautiful neighborhoods, community work touches the lives of millions of households and connects the aspirations of hundreds of millions of people.

In recent years, authorities at Gangyunli Community in Tianjin’s Hexi District have engaged in community-level governance through developing the local CPC organization and continuously innovated governance methods. The community has put its “red hall forums,” or town hall meetings, to effective use, refined its three-tier “quick response mechanism” for reporting and solving problems, and improved grid-based management. Based on collaboration, participation, and shared benefits, the community has endeavored to build a happy home for all residents.

“Everyone is free to express their opinions. They should use different colored post-it notes to record opinions and post them on the problem board under the appropriate category.” On October 27, 2022, Gangyunli Community convened its first “red hall forum” meeting shortly after the 20th CPC National Congress. Sun Qian, secretary of the community Party committee and head of the residents’ committee, hosted the meeting, which was focused on further improving parking management in the neighborhood. For the past six months, residents have been meeting in the same place to offer suggestions and ideas for solving the parking problem.

Residents of Gangyunli Community in Tianjin discuss ways to improve community governance at a “red hall forum” meeting, November 23, 2022. The community has striven to foster a new community-level governance paradigm for residents based on collaboration, participation, and shared benefits. PHOTO BY TIANJIN DAILY REPORTER HU LINGYUN

Disorderly parking and a shortage of parking spaces were longstanding problems that plagued community residents. After thoroughly studying the issue, the Gangyunli Party committee decided to establish the “red hall forum” initiative. With Party members serving as the backbone, the initiative arranged for the property owners’ committee, the property management company, and resident representatives to discuss the matter in a public forum. After several rounds of discussion, the community reached a consensus that included a resident-centered approach, categorized management, access restrictions, and staggered parking hours. This consensus resulted in the Implementation Plan for Vehicle Management in Gangyunli Community. By eliminating problems such as chaotic parking and the abuse of parking locks by individuals, relations among residents have become much more harmonious.

As the focus of governance shifts to the community level, social conditions and public opinion can rise to the surface. The community has taken concrete steps to apply the guiding principles of the 20th CPC Congress to work for the benefit of the residents. It has steadily improved consultation through the “red hall forums” to enable administrators and residents to communicate face-to-face and engage in honest discussions to get to the heart of problems and find solutions. This has ensured that civil affairs are discussed, decided, and run by the people.

The changes in Gangyunli are due not only to face-to-face interactions through community consultations, but also to effective linkages between different levels of community governance.

In 2019, in an effort to deepen reform and innovation, Tianjin launched a CPC development-led initiative to ensure that Party leadership is fully implemented at the community level. Seizing this opportunity, Gangyunli Community established a three-tier quick response mechanism for reporting problems, where residents report issues to community authorities, who report them to the subdistrict, which then makes reports to the relevant departments.

Li Huixia, a resident at Gangyunli, has been impressed by the contrast between the past and present. “The jumble of overhead wires in the community used to resemble a spider’s web. It was terrible to look at. Since the subdistrict has overhauled and re-aligned the cables, my mood has greatly improved,” said Li.

The problem of overhead wires was not a general sanitation problem that the community could solve on its own, since new wires would have to be installed after old ones were removed. The community thus reported the matter to the subdistrict. After investigating the problem, the subdistrict found that many enterprises and functional departments, including telecommunications and Internet agencies, were involved. The subdistrict reported to the relevant departments, including the district’s cyberspace office and urban management commission. With each level doing its part and all sides working together, it didn’t take long for the sky above the community to be cleared.

Gangyunli Community has made further improvements to the “three-tier quick response mechanism.” The first report has been placed in the hands of community residents, and the final report is also returned to them, ensuring that all issues receive a response and that all solutions are implemented. This mechanism embodies the values of common participation and shared benefit in community-level governance and ensures that the “nerve endings” of grassroots governance operate smoothly.

When President Xi Jinping toured Tianjin in 2019, he issued instructions on community work, stating that such work should be concrete and adhere to a people-centered approach in order to accurately identify the various needs of residents and offer targeted services. Keeping President Xi’s requirements in mind, Gangyunli Community has made sustained efforts to provide such services.

In order to carry out the “red hall forum” initiative, implement the “three-tier quick response mechanism,” and provide targeted resident services, Gangyunli Community Party committee has focused on strengthening grid-based management to create a comprehensive network for community governance.

It has now become commonplace to hear residents talk about “improving the community platform based on grid management, targeted services, and IT support” and “finding the grid manager when you have a problem.”

Today, the living environment at Gangyunli is more comfortable, neighborly relations are more harmonious, and residents are caring for each other and working together to build an even better and more beautiful community.