Li Peng Stresses Grass-Roots Democracy 　　Democratic elections in China' s villages have laid a solid foundation for the development of democracy throughout the nation, according to Li Peng, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee. 　　Democracy in villages should include democratic elections, as well as democratic management and supervision, said Li during a visit to east China's Fujian Province between February 4-10. 　　China has introduced a direct election system for village committees which are grass-roots organizations serving China's 900 million rural residents. 　　Li expressed great concern about the promotion of democracy on the grass-roots level during his fact-finding tour conducted in advance of the annual plenary session of the Ninth National People's Congress, China's highest legislative body. The Congress is scheduled to open in Beijing on March 5. 　　The main characteristic of the development of democracy is based on grass-roots democracy which is practiced by village committees, workers' congresses in factories and neighborhood committees in cities, said Li. 　　He said China should promote the development of grass-roots democracy, encourage public participation in democratic management and improve public awareness of democracy. 　　Li attended a court session in Xiamen and noted that people's congresses at various levels and related standing committees should select and supervise cases with a great social impact in order to ensure justice. 　　Li also visited factories, schools and families in both urban and rural areas in order to determine the actual status of the reform of state-owned enterprises, as well as efforts to re-employ laid-off workers and ensure their basic living standards. HomeNews 1999-02-12 Page1 Full Story in Chinese