– Angchhiree Sherpa
“Always put the people first,” this has been the most impressive takeaway from the fourth volume of “Xi Jinping: The Governance of China.” Though the book is a compilation of 109 pieces of spoken and written texts of Chinese President Xi Jinping, this particular chapter drew my attention as it should be the core value of any country and government.
The book offers deeper insights into the lives of the Chinese people under the CPC leadership, with a people-centered philosophy of development. For any country, be it a developed or developing one, uniting the people and giving them a better life should be a fundamental goal. The people-centered philosophy of development is not an empty slogan, but a principle that underpins all decisions and plans of the government. In the chapter, the same commitment is reflected.
Xi presents three important statements: always put the people first, rely on the people and constantly work for the benefit of the people. This is indeed important as the purpose of economic and social development is to fulfill the people’s desire for a better life. For this, the government and leaders should work hard to address practical issues of public concern, including employment, education, social security, health care, food safety and public order. As Xi says, we must make concrete efforts year after year to deliver tangible results and real benefits to the people.
The challenges remain. In the context of the book, that was a post covid-19 period thus people were struggling with the recovery from epidemic while the country itself was trying hard to recover economically. But even in tough times, the fundamentals for stable and long-term progress based on people’s aspirations were not changed. This is relevant to our context as well. We also go through crises, disasters and severe challenges time and again, added with political instability, however, the fundamentals or the basic features based on public expectations should not be changed.
The next important aspect he highlights is people’s support as top political priority. “Over the decades, our Party has always required relevant departments to conduct in-depth research and studies at the grassroots level and to understand and gather information first hand before issuing important guidelines and policies and making major decisions and arrangements,” he states, which sets an example of being practical and involving people in decisions and formulating plans.
At one point, mentioning about the Five-year Plan, he states that they make best use of the favorable environment and build momentum for development, uphold the people-centered philosophy of development and strengthen party organizations and governments at the grassroot level and be role models as grassroots representatives.
“The people’s support is our top political priority. Our Party serves the people wholeheartedly, honors its commitment to serving the public good, exercises power in the interests of the people and considers it our goal to meet the people’s aspirations for a better life. These principles have been both stated and followed over almost 100 years,” he states in the book. This is relevant as political parties should focus on serving the general public the most leaving behind other interests.
For this, the foundation work must be solid, and only with the strong party organizations and the governments at the grassroot levels can the foundation of development and prosperity be solid. I am touched by this principle as strengthening and reforming grassroots social governance is a key and can further contribute to social stability.
The Chinese President further urged his party members and officials to play an exemplary role and form closer ties with the people. “CPPCC members should maintain contact with and serve the people in their respective sectors and rural workers who have become prosperous should work harder to lead others forward, so that all are united in striving for a new and better life,” his appeal aroused enthusiasm and initiation to mobilize and unite people.
The book also contains another chapter “Earn and keep the people’s support in consolidating Party leadership” which could be a learning for our parties and leaders as well. Generally in Nepal, parties are more closer to the public before the elections, but gradually distance themselves after winning it. This tendency brings a gap between public and parties. We have seen this closely in many places of Nepal where leaders are unwelcome in their own constituencies in the later phase. Thus, people’s support is vital for party leadership.
In this context, Xi warns all party members that having served in position, “no danger is greater than forgetting our founding mission or distancing ourselves from the people.” He also presents an example of how the older generation of revolutionaries “gave top priority to the interests of the Party”, “stood with the overwhelming majority of the working people”, and “sat on the side of the people.” This reflects that the parties must follow the mass line and respect the people’s principal position in order to gain success. This is relevant to the Nepali society as well.
Stating that the party’s mission is to serve the people and improve their lives, Xi states in another chapter, “We have accomplished our First Centenary Goal and now on a journey towards the Second Centenary Goal to build China into a modern socialist country in all respects. This goal cannot be realized without modernizing agriculture and rural areas. We should pour our efforts to consolidate gains in poverty elimination with endeavors to revitalize the countryside.”
As Nepal is also on the way to become a developing country from the least developed country, this is not possible until its major indicators are achieved. And in order to achieve that, people’s needs must be kept at the center.
(Sherpa is a member of CPN UML Bagmati Province Committee)
