This report is written by Our Staff Reporter Yuan Yaping on the "Fengqiao Experience". Fengqiao is a town in the eastern part of Zhuji City, Zhejiang Province. Following are the main points of this report.

Fengqiao, located in the eastern part of Zhuji City, is a famous economic and cultural town with a population of 47,600.

Fengqiao people are living and working in peace and happiness. Over the past 17 years, no appeal has been made by the masses to the higher authorities for help, no case of murder has occurred, and no criminal case has resulted from the disputes intensified as a result of improper mediation and handling.

Fengqiao has enjoyed steady economic development. Last year, per-capita income of farmers in the town came to 6,025 yuan, and the town's comprehensive economic strength ranked among Zhuji City's top ten.

Stability Is the Prerequisite for Development

In the showroom of FengqiaoTown are displayed photos and pictures of historical significance. In the early 1960s, Fengqiao's cadres and masses, in their practice, created the "Fengqiao Experience" known as "mobilizing and relying on the masses, persisting in the practice of not passing on contradictions to the leaderships but instead solving them locally, and making less arrests and bringing about good public order". In November 1963, Comrade Mao Zedong gave a written instruction, calling on various localities to follow suit and popularize it after experimentation was made in selected areas.

The reform and opening program has brought about profound changes in the social outlook of Fengqiao. Readjustment of the interest pattern, however, has unavoidably generated new contradictions, such as difficulties plaguing some enterprises, increase in enterprise debts and creditor's right and the emergence of laid-off workers. Resolving these problems requires attention to be paid to the general situation of stability.

There is a collectively owned enterprise with a staff of more than 200 workers in Fengqiao. The enterprise's assets could not cover its debts and the feeling of workers was insecure. When local cadres were setting about to solve this problem, they learned that Busen Group was planning to set up a branch factory to produce Western-style trousers, so they acted as a go-between. Busen Group had market, name brands and sales management superiority, the enterprise had sites, factory buildings and proficient workers. The two reached an agreement. After it was amalgamated by the Busen Group, the enterprise formed a production capacity of 300,000 Western trousers that year and created an output value of 17 million yuan and profits and taxes of 2 million yuan.

Busen Group, a clothing enterprise founded in 1984, had a sales volume of 4.52 million shirts last year, it turned over 6.43 million yuan of tax to the State, making it one of the largest dress enterprises in China.

Shou Nengfeng, secretary of the group's Party branch committee, told this reporter, "Our group has taken root in Fengqiao and our workers alone number more than 2,000, our group will not be able to develop without a stable social environment".

Development Is the Foundation of Stability

As this reporter arrived at Xiushan Village, Wang Shuifang, secretary of the village Party branch committee, told him, "Our village was poor and disorderly in the past, but now it has become nationally advanced. This fact shows that economic development is the foundation of stability." The key to the security of general feeling lies in enabling the public to get rich. Village cadres tried their best to raise money to buy looms themselves, and encourage villagers to buy their own looms, now almost every household has its own looms and everybody has work to do.

The "China Brand-name Shirts Township" named by the State Clothing Association boasts 34 fairly large shirt enterprises and famous-brand shirts, such as Busen, Kaier and Haihun, they produce 25 million shirts a year, create an annual output value of 938 million yuan, earn profits of 75.8 million yuan and pay taxes of 15 million yuan to the State a year.

Last year, Fengqiao Town registered a GDP of 700 million yuan, placing itself in the ranks as Shaoxing City's first batch of well-off towns. The development of the secondary and tertiary industries has provided many job opportunities and avenues to become affluent. As a result, more than 45,000 redundant farm hands have been transferred locally and a large batch of non-local business people have been absorbed, 11 enterprises from outside have now settled down in Fengqiao.

Stability Needs a Set of Mechanisms

Cai Hanliang, deputy secretary of the Zhuji city Party committee, told this reporter, "At the present stage, contradictions among the people are the outstanding factors affecting rural stability. These contradictions have emerged in the process of reform and opening up. Currently, Fengqiao has initially established working mechanisms that can help effectively prevent and diffuse conflicts."

This set of working mechanisms are: Organization and construction come before work, forecasting work comes before prevention, preventive work comes before mediation which, in turn, comes before intensification.

"Organization and construction come before work" guarantees that someone is put in charge of the work of prevention and diffusion.

"Forecasting work comes before prevention" requires the establishment of an early warning system which can react quickly and promptly discover contradictions and disputes.

"The work of prevention comes before mediation" requires efforts to decrease contradictions and try as far as possible to avoid disputes.

"The work of mediation comes before intensification" ensures that contradictions and disputes are nipped in the bud. This set of working mechanisms provides sure guarantee for the social stability of Zhuji City.

Development Requires Taking Human Beings As the Foundation

Chen Maoshui, board chairman of the Haihun Company, said to this reporter, "We have the fine tradition of the 'Fengqiao Experience', we should say, the external environment is not bad, but what is crucial is that within the enterprise there should be a production environment featuring unity and stability. An enterprise should first of all have people of good character if it wants to develop and to be useful to society."

Busen, Haihun and other enterprises have frequently opened training classes for young workers coming from outside, encouraging them to learn culture, technology and law.

In Fengqiao there are legal publicity booths in every village and books on the popularization of law in every household. Fengqiao has constantly conducted legal education to enhance farmers' legal awareness.