The central committees of the non-Communist political parties and people without party affiliation have made active efforts to conduct democratic oversight over the conservation of the Yangtze River since a five-year democratic supervision began in last June.

Led by the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the five-year initiative aims to strengthen the protection and restoration of the environment in the Yangtze River basin.

Democratic oversight of the CPC exercised by the non-CPC political parties and people without party affiliation is an important way to leverage the strengths of China's political party system and is an essential requirement in modernizing China's governance system and capacity. The mechanism has played a unique and irreplaceable role in the socialist supervision system with Chinese characteristics.

Focus on key issues

On Oct 28, 2021, a team led by the Central Committee of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang visited a riverside site that was recently restored from an industrial park in Yichang, Central China's Hubei province.

In their field work, a team of experts and inspectors asked many questions, including if the water quality had reached the Class II standard and how many wastewater outlets are in the industrial park. Prior to the visit, the team made a careful plan, identified key concerns, and tried to boost local ecological protection and economic growth through such high-quality democratic supervision.

The democratic oversight of the river's conservation started from a clear defining of priorities under monitoring, such as non-point-source pollution in rural areas, urban sewage and waste disposal, and industrial pollution control. Also on the radar is ship and port pollution, plastic waste, water resource conservation, environmental risk control and emergency response.

This democratic oversight mission proceeded at a high level and expanded the scope of engagement by people without party affiliation. Its arrangement, in line with the overall work of the CPC and the State, fully reflects the great importance attached to the system of multiparty cooperation, as well as confidence in non-CPC political parties and people without party affiliation.

Systematic planning and orderly work

Data showed leaders of the central committees of the non-CPC political parties directly led 18 out of 45 field visits, which altogether provided more than 250 suggestions to local CPC committees and governments at all levels.

Seeing the mission as a major political task, participants have worked actively and showed a high sense of responsibility. The initiative has already achieved a good start, as a series of concrete measures have been put into practice.

On the organizational level, central committees of the non-CPC political parties established a task force, led by the central committee's chairman, and created a strong work plan. The central committees of the non-CPC political parties, including the China Zhi Gong Party and Jiu San Society, also got experts across the country on board to strengthen intelligence support.

On the implementation level, routine contact, updates and consultation meetings were employed to facilitate the progress. For example, the Central Committee of the China National Democratic Construction Association has formed a regular working mechanism with the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee, the provincial government and the province’s development and reform commission, department of ecology and environment and natural resources department.

On the communication level, ministries and commissions under the State Council actively helped members of non-CPC political parties and people without party affiliation to stay informed about the latest developments by providing relevant documents and materials, giving lectures, and allowing participation in surveys. Local CPC committees and governments also issued special circulars to support democratic supervision.

In addition, efforts have been made to adopt innovative methods and approaches. For example, the Central Committee of the Chinese Democratic League (CDL) worked closely with the United Front Work Department of the CPC Yunnan Provincial Committee and the CDL Yunnan Provincial Committee to develop a digital platform for the initiative. The Central Committee of the China Zhi Gong Party used remote sensing to monitor conservation issues in the Anhui section of the Yangtze River.

Summarize experiences for better progress

Democratic oversight of the river's environmental protection has not only reflected the strengths of China's political party system, but also allowed participants to acquire new experiences and insights to better perform their duties as CPPCC members.

They have gained a direct understanding of the major decisions and plans of the CPC and the State, deeply felt the importance the CPC Central Committee has attached to the river's protection, and also strengthened their confidence and determination to win the battle against pollution.

The problem-orientated approaches in this inspection gave feedback to local CPC committees and governments and also proposed ideas and solutions to solve problems, thus creating consensus and synergy in promoting ecological protection.

This inspection initiative has featured engagement at the grassroots level, team building, improvement of organizational capacity, and stronger performance of duties, which ultimately help build non-CPC political parties participating in State governance under socialism with Chinese characteristics.

In the next step, the democratic supervision will continue to focus on key issues and accommodate efforts with the implementation of the Yangtze River Conservation Law and decisions of the CPC Central Committee. Efforts will be made to further strengthen coordination and cooperation, perfect the working mechanism, and constantly improve the quality of oversight to make greater contributions to the ecological protection of the Yangtze River.