"Digital Governance" for Better Villagers | Shu Jun | Countryside
The picture shows the appearance of Youyi Village in Sanshui Town, Guanghan City, Sichuan Province.
Photo by our reporter Kang Pu
The accompanying image in the article is a screenshot of the mini program "Village level Affairs Management Platform".
Walking freely in Youyi Village, Sanshui Town, Guanghan City, Sichuan Province, almost every household is covered in two-story small buildings, with houses arranged in a neat and fresh manner. There is also a fish shaped wooden sign hanging at the entrance of each courtyard, with a QR code on the tail of the fish——
The reporter took out his phone and scanned: Xie Qifu's home, with a score of 483, ranked 17th in the village, is a five-star user of point loans.
Knocking on the courtyard door, the courtyard was clean and orderly. The reporter was warmly welcomed into the room by the owner, and the windows were bright and tidy.
"What is the use of points?"
"Actively participating in village affairs can earn points. With points, one can do many things and have a good face. In recent years, the village has implemented a points system, and everyone's enthusiasm is high. The front and back of the house are clean, the village environment is better, and the people are more concerned about the village's affairs!"
In recent years, with the strong promotion of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, effective experiences in rural governance such as the integration system and village decision-making have been accelerated and promoted in rural areas across the country, relying on digital tools. The "Village level Affairs Management Platform" mini program used by Friendship Village has covered over 35000 villages nationwide, serving more than 5 million people.
"Shuzhi" is making the vast rural areas of China increasingly harmonious and beautiful.
Small points bring big changes
"Summer is the peak season for aquaculture, and it costs five to six thousand yuan of feed every day!" When the reporter saw Wen Peili, he was busy working by the fish pond under the scorching sun. Carp, grass carp, and sea bass flock together, each one plump and plump.
Wen Peili is a major fish farmer in Youyi Village. He has contracted an 82 acre fish pond with an annual output value of over 1.3 million yuan, and his business is doing well. However, raising and selling fish also has seasonality, and there may be times of tight cash flow.
Not long ago, there was a funding gap of 300000 yuan, which made Wenpei Li a bit difficult. Upon learning that Guanghan Rural Commercial Bank and the village committee could provide a certain amount of loan credit to eligible villagers based on their family points, he immediately applied for a credit loan of 300000 yuan.
The staff of Sanshui Branch of Guanghan Rural Commercial Bank told reporters that villagers can also enjoy preferential interest rates. For every 100 points increase in family points, the loan interest rate will be further reduced by 0.1 percentage points. The bank lowered the loan interest rate for Wenpei Li Jia by 0.58% based on his accumulated 583 points.
"Participating in village affairs can earn points, and with points, it can help solve financial difficulties. It's a win-win situation!" said Wen Peili.
How do I earn points?
Open the village level affairs management platform and find Youyi Village. The points rules under the village rules and regulations are clearly stated: "Family members who have enlisted in the military in the past will receive 100 points." "Those who unite with neighbors, help each other, and have supporting documents will receive 8 points. Those who fight and fight will receive 50 points." "If household waste is thrown into the garbage bin and fails to achieve a 5 point reduction," "Those who offer suggestions for rural development and economic construction and are adopted will receive 20 points." "Those who are admitted to key undergraduate programs will receive 50 points."
"Village rules and regulations involve aspects such as patriotism and law-abiding, rural civilization, ecological livability, prosperous industries, and joint construction and governance. Each of them has corresponding rules for adding and subtracting points. Villagers' points are recorded online, reviewed, and publicly displayed. Everyone can see the number and ranking of points, which is transparent and open," Shu Jun, the secretary of the Party branch of Youyi Village, told reporters.
The integral system was learned by Shu Jun from Youxiqiao Village, Xinhua County, Hunan Province. Youxiqiao Village was originally a deeply impoverished village, and with a set of village level affairs credit management system, it has achieved the growth of the village collective economy and the transformation of the village's appearance. In 2021, Shu Jun came to Youxiqiao Village to participate in training and saw the lush mountains, clean and tidy residential buildings, and thriving rural tourism industries. He witnessed the tremendous changes brought by the points system to the appearance of Youxiqiao Village.
"Our village's collective economy is quite good, with a certain scale of fishing, aquaculture, and fruit tree planting. However, the village's appearance is not satisfactory, and the people are not very concerned about village level affairs." The prosperous industry of Youxiqiao Village and the positive interaction of rural governance made Shu Jun envious. "After returning, I promoted a points system in the village, formulated village rules and regulations, and points details in the 'three up and three down' manner. Public affairs that were previously neglected are now being rushed to work, and the people spontaneously participate in environmental beautification, making the village more civilized."
"Industrial development and governance complement each other effectively. If a village is harmonious, stable, and cohesive, it can provide a strong mobilization force for industrial development," Zhang Tianzuo, Chief Livestock Engineer of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and Director of the Rural Cooperative Economic Guidance Department, told reporters. "But if governance cannot keep up, sometimes even if the industry develops to a certain extent, it may cause people's hearts to be divided, and the village may lose vitality. The current digital means do provide effective tools for consolidating rural strength and improving the level of rural governance."
Mini programs leverage big governance
"A group of ditches are damaged, and we hope to have them repaired as soon as possible."
A villager in Youyi Village reported the situation on the "Villager Talks" section of the "Village level Affairs Management Platform", and received a reply from Shu Jun a few hours later——
"Upon receiving the issue, we will promptly conduct on-site investigation."
Upon arriving at the scene, Shu Jun found that the ditch was still usable, but it was time for water to be used. If it was repaired immediately, it may affect normal drainage and irrigation. Therefore, he replied to the villagers: wait until the time period for centralized drainage and irrigation is over before proceeding with repairs. The villagers acknowledge this.
"Villagers Talking" divides the decision-making process of small and large affairs in the village into four steps: "speaking, discussing, handling, and evaluating", like a digital conference hall. Villagers can click "I want to talk" to initiate an agenda. Whether it is a major development event in the village, or a small situation such as damaged streetlights or broken water pipes, they can directly remind the village branch secretary. The village branch secretary is then discussed by the village committee and villagers, and the "task" is initiated to the village cadres. After the task is completed, villagers can also rate and evaluate it.
"The common people post the problems they encounter, and we respond and solve them in a timely manner after seeing them, greatly improving work efficiency." Shu Jun said, he has developed a habit of checking what the villagers say on the mini program every day.
"When our village villagers encounter difficulties, they also like to open the 'Villagers Talk' feature on their phones to seek solutions. Xue Min, the party branch secretary of Xiqian Village in Fancun Town, Hejin City, Shanxi Province, is visiting and studying in Youyi Village. He told reporters, 'The village still uses this feature to promote the transformation of customs and traditions!'"
Originally, the villagers of Xixi Village had to feast guests before their wedding. According to the village custom of having six dishes and eight bowls per table, it would cost at least over 10000 yuan. Everyone is in a difficult position, but no one feels embarrassed to be the first to break tradition. In February of this year, villager Xue Xiaojun posted a sentence on "Villagers Talk" with a trial mentality: "Every time someone is invited to set up more than ten tables, ordinary families cannot afford it. Can our village committee discuss removing some unnecessary links and reducing the burden on the villagers?"
The village party branch immediately organized villagers to express their opinions online, saying "No one invited, simple", "I strongly agree", "It is indeed very expensive, I suggest canceling or simplifying"... Villagers may leave comments or likes, competing to express their opinions. The voting results will be announced 5 days later: 209 votes in favor, 1 vote against, and a new content will be included in the village rules and regulations of Xixi Village - no banquet will be held before the wedding.
Xue Min took out his phone while introducing and found Xixi Village on the "Village level Affairs Management Platform". "Look, it's clear who said and did what at what time."
"This is also a five-star review given by Xue Xiaojun: it has saved expenses for the people and praised the leaders of our Xiqian Village!" Xue Min said, "Within a year, Xiqian Village has handled more than 100 urgent needs and worries of the villagers in the 'villagers talk things'. Previously, it was arranged by the village cadres to do it, but now it is arranged by the villagers' cadres to do it. We are the servants of the villagers."
Party affairs, village affairs, and finance, these three village level affairs are also publicly available on the "Village Level Affairs Management Platform" and are subject to supervision by villagers. "The management platform is like a blackboard, where people from all over the world can open it at any time to see how much money we spend each month and the changes in the village every day. 'Everyone is a supervisor, everyone is a discoverer', and everyone's right to know is guaranteed, which can better achieve joint construction, governance, and sharing." Xue Min said.
"Small" branch secretary releases great energy
With the upgrading of rural governance tools, the abilities of the majority of villagers are also constantly improving.
Starting from 2021, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and Tencent have collaborated to implement the "Cultivator" revitalization plan, investing 500 million yuan over three years to carry out talent training for rural governance backbone and new agricultural management entities, and to develop and provide digital tools for grassroots governance backbone.
"To revitalize rural areas, it is necessary to develop the talents of the village itself. Sustainable development of rural areas requires adhering to the principle of farmers as the main body and relying on the improvement of their abilities." Tencent's Vice President of Sustainable Social Value, Xiao Liming, said, "We hope to empower farmers with digitalization under the leadership of the government and social assistance, stimulate their internal motivation, promote effective growth of the village collective economy, promote talent return, and enable farmers to live a modern and civilized life on the spot."
Shu Jun was one of the early village cadres to participate in the training. In 2021, from Guanghan in Sichuan to Shenzhen in Guangdong, and then to Youxiqiao Village in Hunan, he was deeply impressed by that training experience.
"In Guanghan and Shenzhen, there was more brainstorming to help us broaden our horizons, liberate our minds, and cultivate team spirit. The training also introduced a promotion mechanism, group competition, and only outstanding performers can enter the next learning stage." Shu Jun recalled, "Only when we arrived at Youxiqiao Village did we learn how to implement the point system, including how to formulate detailed rules, and what forms of incentives to use. The content was very rich. After the training, I mastered a complete set of methods to break down and solve problems. I immediately told the training teacher that when we returned to our village, we would also promote the point system!"
At the beginning of its implementation, Shu Jun still used the old method of printing promotional flyers and distributing them to households, but the people were not very interested, and the points supermarket for exchanging daily necessities was also rarely visited.
"To stimulate the endogenous motivation of villagers, it is necessary to combine more immediate interests with the people, and the methods must be tailored to local conditions." The inspiration gained during the training made Shu Jun think of the need to prescribe the right medicine. Coincidentally, the staff of Guanghan Rural Commercial Bank came to the village to conduct research and exchange ideas, collided with each other, and came up with the idea of "point loans". The common people were short of money for work, and the credit limit was determined through points, which immediately mobilized the enthusiasm of the villagers.
"Cultivate a person, drive a village." Zhang Tianzuo revealed a set of data: in the past two years, the "cultivator" revitalization plan has been implemented in 29 provinces across the country. As of the end of June this year, a total of 352 classes have been held, and the total number of trainees has reached 41000.
"The 'Cultivator' revitalization plan is in line with the practical needs of rural governance and industrial development. Next, we must adhere to the position of farmers as the main body, gather various forces, continue to empower rural governance through digital means, explore new fields and models to help rural revitalization, and accelerate the construction of livable, business friendly, and beautiful countryside." Zhang Tianzuo said.
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