A CUSTOMIZED CONCEPT
On the third floor of the Gubei Civic Center in Shanghai’s Hongqiao Subdistrict, a small group of residents are discussing how to use smart technologies to make senior citizens’ life more convenient.
In another hall at the center, a meeting is being held to collect opinions from the public on adding new infrastructure to one of the subdistrict’s commercial streets. Residents discuss the new infrastructure that is needed, what the standard for the new infrastructure should be and how the projects should be implemented.
Such practices of democratic consultation and decision-making have become the norm in Hongqiao Subdistrict. Since a Legislation Opinion Collection Station was established at the center six years ago, the center has collected public opinions on 55 draft laws and provided 1,056 suggestions to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), the top legislature, 92 of which have been accepted.
In November 2019, President Xi Jinping inspected the center, where he said, “People’s
