In-depth investigation helps China’s political advisors make targeted suggestions

Through diversified forms of investigation, members of the committees of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), a major channel for promoting socialist consultative democracy in China, have made their due contributions to improving people’s well-being by reporting on the wisdom and opinions of the people to the country’s decision-makers via the CPPCC.

The Communist Party of China (CPC) believes that “He who makes no investigation and study has no right to speak”. In fact, in-depth investigation has been a highlight of the work of the National Committee of the CPPCC over the past year.

In March 2019, China released a newly revised version of the measures for enhancing and improving the investigation work of the National Committee of the CPPCC. The document stressed that political advisors should make sure that investigations are carried out in an earnest and wholehearted manner.

CPPCC members should attentively listen to people’s opinions during discussions and interviews, completely comprehend the situations the people are in, work hard to study the problems, elaborately put forward solutions, improve the quality of their investigation results, enrich means of making suggestions, and promote the transformation of investigation results into practical solutions, the document said.

By strengthening and improving its investigation activities, the CPPCC National Committee has significantly improved its institution, standard, and procedure construction to better fulfill its duties.

In August 2020, the CPPCC National Committee held a consultative conference on the supervision over the handling of key proposals related to the consolidation of poverty alleviation results in China’s western regions during the country’s 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) in Linxia Hui autonomous prefecture, northwest China’s Gansu province.

Before the conference, main leaders of the CPPCC National Committee made field trips to poverty-relief relocation sites, workshops, planting bases, visited households lifted out of poverty, and held meetings with poverty-eradication cadres at provincial, municipal, county, township, and village levels. The move marked the first time that the main leaders of the CPPCC National Committee supervised the handling of key proposals by field investigation.

Before the investigation, the Committee for Handling Proposals of the CPPCC National Committee held two symposiums both offline and via video link, which were attended by CPPCC members and the organizations that were responsible for handling the proposals. During the field investigation, leaders of the CPPCC National Committee went in four groups to the front line to acquire detailed information in the day time, and held brief meetings at night to discuss investigation results.

In early September last year, an investigation team of the population, resources, and environment committee of the National Committee of the CPPCC, went to the headwaters region of the Yellow River, China’s second longest river, to research into the ecological protection situation of the water source conservation areas along the upper reaches of the Yellow River.

After arduous field trips to relevant rural areas and pasturing areas in the headwaters region, where weathers change drastically from hour to hour, the team compiled a report on further strengthening ecological protection in the water source conservation areas along the upper reaches of the Yellow River, which was later submitted to the CPC Central Committee and China’s State Council.

Based on their own strengths, the special committees of the CPPCC National Committee have conducted diversified forms of investigation activities through innovative approaches and methods.

Centering on priorities for improving business environment during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the Committee on Economic Affairs investigated 130 enterprises and learned 12 major problems, including accommodative and prudential regulation on new economy and legal guarantee for workers in flexible employment.

Follow-up research activities were later conducted, and a comprehensive report and ten articles containing relevant materials for and information about the work of the CPPCC were formulated, which received important instructions from the CPC Central Committee.

The Committee on Social and Legal Affairs researched into key issues in the 14th Five-Year Plan for promoting the modernization of social governance system and capacity by carrying out in-depth exchanges with 56 Party and government departments, grassroots units, and social organizations through videos. The committee’s research report and results have been responded and recognized by relevant leaders.

In addition, the Committee on Education, Science, Health and Sport made field visits to colleges, universities, and employers, and held in-depth discussions with executives of local authorities, colleges, universities, and employers, as well as representatives of fresh college graduates and their parents on the topic of employment and entrepreneurship of college graduates amid pandemic.

After extensively soliciting opinions, the committee compiled a research report, and many of the suggestions in the report were adopted by relevant departments.