CPC pledges to give the public more say (2)

CALLS FOR PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

After more than 30 years of rapid development, China has become the second-largest economy in the world -- but at the cost of resources and the environment.

The expansive growth pattern and the fast pace of urbanization over the past decades have led to shortages of resources, environmental degradation and even worse, an increasing number of "mass incidents."

In 2012, three violent protests against the construction of chemical projects near residential compounds broke out in the southwestern Chinese city of Shifang, as well as eastern cities of Qidong and Ningbo. There were confrontations between local residents and government officials.

All of the projects were eventually scrapped and the public seemed to "win."

However, experts warned that authorities must seek a systematic solution to ease public fears about environmental pollution and distrust about the government. Otherwise, similar protests will happen again.

"In most cases, the government has not solicited public opinion well when it decides to launch a potentially polluting project. In addition, it has not done well in publicizing scientific knowledge to ease public worries," said Wang Kaiyu, a sociologist in Anhui Province.

"China cannot develop in an all-around way without the chemical industry, but public health must be ensured at the same time," said Liu Zhibiao, president of the Jiangsu Provincial Academy of Social Sciences.

"People of all walks of life and various non-governmental organizations, especially specialized groups, should be given the chance to participate in the government's decision-making process," he said.

The CPC has been aware of the destabilizing factors in the country's economic and social development.

In addition to pledging more say for the public in the authorities' decision-making, the Party has decided to solve the environmental problem.

In Thursday's report, Hu Jintao emphasized the importance of ecological progress and advocated the building of a "beautiful China" in the country's overall development plan.

"We must give high priority to making ecological progress, work hard to build a beautiful country, and achieve lasting and sustainable development of the Chinese nation," Hu said.

He gave ecological progress a more prominent position by incorporating it into the country's overall development plan together with economic, political, cultural and social progress.

"To build a beautiful China and a harmonious China, the Party must strike a balance between public appeals and economic development," said Wang Dong, a delegate to the ongoing Party congress and board chairman of the Gansu Dayu Water Saving Group.

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