On the afternoon of December 16, 2025, the Standing Committee of the Nanhu District People's Congress in Jiaxing City convened a district-wide work planning meeting for the People's Congress. During the session, chairs and directors from various town-level People's Congresses and sub-district working committees shared their annual achievements, insights, and plans for the upcoming year. Shang Jianzhong, then Chair of the Yuxin Town People's Congress, highlighted that one of his most fulfilling accomplishments in 2025 was the official implementation of a pilot project to connect piped natural gas to self-built housing communities in Yuxin Town. The successful launch of this public welfare initiative was significantly supported and propelled by Nanhu District's "1+13+107" system of deputy liaison stations and offices.
The 107 People's Congress deputy liaison offices serve as vital "receptors" connecting with the aspirations of constituents. On the morning of September 27, 2024, the third-quarter "Seasonal Rendezvous" activity for deputies to connect with voters was underway in the Nongzhuang Village deputy liaison office in Yuxin Town. During the event, district deputy Yu Dongqin learned that the local self-built housing community lacked access to piped natural gas, forcing residents to rely on cumbersome and perceived less-safe bottled liquefied petroleum gas; they hoped their deputy could help find a solution. After receiving this public feedback, the liaison office recorded it, compiled the information, and, following the deputy's guidance, forwarded the matter to the Yuxin Town People's Congress liaison station, seeking the town-level congress's assistance in exploring solutions.
In Nanhu District, there are 107 such deputy liaison offices, each corresponding to one of the 107 electoral districts for district-level deputies. Every office is equipped with a director as the primary responsible person, creating excellent conditions for deputies to return to their constituencies and serve the voters. To ensure these grassroots platforms function effectively, the Nanhu District People's Congress Standing Committee established the "Seasonal Rendezvous" system, organizing all district deputies to return to their constituency liaison offices on the morning of the 27th of the final month of each quarter to engage with constituents. While liaison office directors plan the activities, one constant element is organizing deputies to listen to voters' opinions and suggestions on various pressing difficulties. This system, initiated in September 2022, has been consistently maintained for over three years, becoming a customary practice for both deputies and constituents.
The 13 People's Congress deputy liaison stations act as "processors" linking with the "One Government, One Commission, and Two Courts." Following provincial requirements to advance grassroots units for whole-process people's democracy, each town (sub-district) must establish a deputy liaison station, ideally situated close to the public. Nanhu's 13 towns (sub-districts) have all established such stations, which are fully accessible ("downstairs and out of the compound"). The chair (or director) of the town (sub-district) People's Congress (Working Committee) serves as the station head, overseeing its overall operation. All district deputies elected within the administrative area are assigned to a station, participating in its activities, and the opinions collected by deputies are "categorized and processed" here. The Yuxin Town liaison station, for instance, is conveniently located south of the town government building, near the north entrance of Yunyueli residential area.
Upon receiving the suggestion from the Nongzhuang Village liaison office regarding piped gas for self-built housing communities, Shang Jianzhong, then Chair of the Yuxin Town People's Congress, promptly organized station deputies to conduct a special investigation, inviting relevant town government line personnel to participate. The investigation revealed this was a widespread issue in Yuxin Town. Situated 7 kilometers southeast of downtown Jiaxing, Yuxin is a key strategic area for the southward expansion of the Jiaxing High-Speed Rail New Town, with over 80% of its residents living in concentrated areas. While public infrastructure like water, electricity, roads, and communications has improved with urbanization, the town's 15 self-built housing communities, comprising about 4,500 households, lacked piped gas, with over 70% of residents expressing a desire for installation. The deputies concluded that addressing this required not only town-level support but also policy guidance and coordinated promotion at the district level.
Acting decisively, the Yuxin Town People's Congress utilized a mechanism established by the District Standing Committee, which synchronizes deputy and "One Chief, Three Officials" visits to stations for public receptions, to directly contact the assigned district housing and urban-rural development bureau leader. Together, they explored solutions. After discussions, the district bureau acknowledged the shared intent to proceed at both district and town levels, but noted the gas company is a municipal enterprise. Subsequent coordination efforts focused on relevant municipal departments and the gas company to vigorously promote piped gas installation in these rural self-built communities. This core mechanism involves inviting "One Chief, Three Officials" (heads or deputy heads of district government departments, supervisory officials, judges, or prosecutors) to join district deputies at town (sub-district) liaison stations on the morning of the 20th each month. The aim is to create a platform for face-to-face communication and consultation between deputies, the public, and the "One Government, One Commission, and Two Courts," facilitating efficient problem-solving. The District Standing Committee prepares an annual schedule ensuring full coverage across all 13 stations. With fixed timing and personnel for each station, the committee optimized the mechanism from "fixed station visits" to "fixed linkages," pairing each station with its annual assigned officials. This allows deputies to contact their "paired" officials whenever needed, enhancing flexibility.
The single People's Congress deputy liaison central station functions as a "converter" interconnecting the entire district's People's Congress system. Municipal-level deputies from Nanhu also played a crucial role in advancing the piped natural gas project for self-built housing communities. On the afternoon of November 20, 2024, Jiaxing City 9th People's Congress deputies Shen Kaijun and Hu Weidong arrived at the Nanhu District deputy liaison central station in the district administrative center for the monthly video-link public reception day for municipal deputies. Via video link from the Yuxin Town station, Yu Dongqin and several residents conveyed their desire for piped gas, seeking municipal support. Both deputies acknowledged the public need but noted the broad scope might necessitate a phased approach. Subsequently, Shen Kaijun led a research visit to the city gas group and proposed the "Recommendation on Accelerating Piped Gas Installation in Self-built Housing Communities" at the 5th session of the 9th Municipal People's Congress, pushing the initiative forward. This municipal deputy reception mechanism, initiated in 2019, has persisted for seven years. Every month on the afternoon of the 20th, the Nanhu District Standing Committee invites at least two municipal deputies elected by the district congress to the central station for video-link sessions, receiving suggestions involving municipal authority from within Nanhu. These are then forwarded via the municipal congress to relevant city-level units for resolution. A responsible official from the Nanhu District Standing Committee explained that the 20th afternoon timing effectively dovetails with the morning's deputy and "One Chief, Three Officials" activities, providing a channel for district deputies to relay municipal-level suggestions upward. Furthermore, the district central station can interact via video link with all 13 liaison stations and 107 liaison offices, forming a flexible and diverse履职network.
Through concerted efforts by the municipal, district, and town-level People's Congresses, the Caowang residential area in Yuxin Town, with 100 households, was designated the first pilot for the piped gas project. The Yuxin Town People's Congress formed a "supervision team" to participate fully in construction drawing reviews, material inspections, and safety monitoring, "escorting" the project to completion and actively responding to public expectations. The progression of this public welfare project fully demonstrates the operational integrity of Nanhu's "1+13+107" deputy liaison station and office work system. In recent years, the Nanhu District People's Congress Standing Committee has consistently focused on practicing whole-process people's democracy, continuously deepening the development of deputy liaison stations and offices, establishing sound systems and mechanisms, and forming a closed-loop process for collecting and handling public opinion. This ensures that the voices of the people are heard by Party committees and governments at all levels through their deputies, striving to make democracy genuinely solve the problems that people need resolved.
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