Located next to the Yangtze River, Lianfeng village is about a two hour drive away from downtown Chongqing. Although the villagers' lives have improved in recent years, a few of them are still living in poverty.
And Zhang Jirong's first job today is to visit one of the needy families.
Apart from municipal government aid, Zhang and other party members in the village can provide little material help to poor locals. But, Zhang recognizes the importance of other forms of support too. For many families in financial difficulty, just knowing that someone cares enough to check up on them is encouraging.
Zhang Jirong, Secretary of Party Branch of Lianfeng Village, said, "Governments have good policies for helping the poor. But there must be someone implementing the policies. The Party's care for the people has to be expressed though members like us."
To help the villagers who displaced due to the Three Georges Dam project, two small factories have been set up.. bringing more job opportunities.
A villager said, "Life has become much better after I got this job."
When our interview with Zhang Jirong was only half done, she said she had to leave, because some of the villagers were repairing a small road outside the village, and she had be there.
Zhang told us the road would not have been made if party members hadn't started the project in their spare time.
Zhang Jirong said, "The party members volunteered to pave the road, then the rest came to join us. So you can see how important the party members' leading roles are."
Now the villagers are benefiting from the road and they have organized several teams to maintain it.
Zhang is in her sixties. She's been a party member for almost thirty years, and says she'll continue to work for her fellow villagers, as long as she is able to.
Elderly people in Xinwu village always receive subsidies provided by the village committee during festivals. The head of the village is a woman controlling millions of yuan. Liu Yongtao may feel proud when distributing the bank notes, but she never feels easy when persuading the villagers to accept her decisions.
A villager said, "She has very little time to rest, she's busy from morning to evening. Many villagers also go to see her in the evening."
Every morning from nine, people begin arriving in Liu's office and the constant stream of visitors doesn't stop unless she is not there. Construction projects, villagers' weddings and funerals, missing ID cards, neighborhood quarrels, Liu has to deal with almost every imaginable issue.
She kept talking the whole morning, and the villagers were tolerant when she used her mobile phone in meetings. Liu didn't get a chance to rest her voice until the launch ceremony of the CPC Party Branch in a village factory.
Now, two thirds of the village's land is occupied by workshops or residential buildings. Inevitably, some of the four thousand villagers may take it as sort of an intrusion, complaining over the amount of land compensation.
But quarreling is not the way to solve these problems. Liu has her own way of communicating with the villagers. Within only a couple of minutes, the issue seems to have been settled.
Outsiders may not be able to understand the villagers' strong local dialect, but the harmony is obvious. A villager said, "We old people see her as a member of our family. She cares what we think, she's like my daughter."
With this heartfelt praise, Liu should be satisfied with the efforts she has made for the entire village.
Liu Yongtao, Head of Xinwu Villager,said, "Our villagers do have good sense. the only thing you need to do is to work in a way they accept. I don't mind quarreling with them sometimes. I know I will reach consensus with most of the people, because my efforts do them good."
Both Liu and Zhang's lives are miniature portraits of the millions of grassroots Party members in the country.
Dr. He Qingliang, Vice director of Org. Dept. of CPC Chongqing Committee,said, "These Party members working at the grassroots level are pioneers implementing the policies of the Party and governments. The excellence of these people is based on their hard work and the spirit of sacrifice. They set a benchmark for others to follow. Their role in the construction of a well-off society, especially in the construction of a new socialist countryside, is irreplaceable.
Village management may be the most inconspicuous leadership in the country. but it's crucial for implementing the ideas of the ministries, provinces, municipalities, autonomous regions and counties. millions of these people are working at every corner of the country. they speak dialect, they live ordinary lives. but they have their unique and effective ways to establish communications between the Party and governments, and the people, some of whom may not be able to read newspapers everyday, or have no access or interest in TV news or internet. They are just the branches of a huge nerve system, carrying the responsibility of maintaining healthy operations of a gigantic nation.
(CCTV October 21, 2007)
