People's Daily:

Protecting citizens' rights to be informed and to participate is an essential part of realizing whole-process people's democracy. Could you please tell us what specific steps Xizang has taken to protect the rights of people from all ethnic groups to be informed and to participate? Thank you.

Gama Cedain:

I'll answer this question. First, thank you very much for the question. I will provide you with an overview of the efforts we have made in this regard over the years.

China is a socialist country, and the people run the country. The people are the masters of the country. Xizang is no exception in this regard. For the people to truly have a say, they need to understand and participate in both major and minor affairs of their society. Therefore, Xizang has proactively promoted whole-process people's democracy, fully protecting the rights of all ethnic groups to be informed and participate. This ensures that the people's voices are heard across all aspects of decision-making, implementation and supervision by the Party and the government. I will brief you on it from three aspects.

First, the public is informed about both major and minor matters. Transparency in government affairs is an important prerequisite for protecting citizens' rights to be informed, participate, express their views and exercise oversight. With a focus on addressing public concerns, governments at all levels in Xizang have ensured full transparency by proactively disclosing legally required information through government websites, social media platforms, government gazettes and other channels. In 2019, Xizang introduced the Measures of the Xizang Autonomous Region on Transparency in Village Affairs, requiring villagers' committees to fully disclose village information through various channels. These include transparency bulletin boards, villagers' representative meetings, online platforms, broadcasting services, text messages, WeChat, transparency cards and other channels.

Second, people can participate in both major and minor public affairs. Xizang has enhanced the working methods for deputies to people's congresses, enabling them to better engage with the public. Deputies at all levels have been encouraged to maintain strong connections with voters. As a result, people are actively involved in various initiatives, ranging from legislation and planning to community matters like waste sorting and property management. We have also established systems for villagers' representative meetings, urban community residents' congresses, and employees' congresses. Additionally, we have implemented mechanisms for grassroots elections, deliberations, information disclosure, work reporting, accountability and other affairs. This helps ensure that primary-level democracy is more extensive and effective.

Third, we can address and resolve all issues, whether big or small. CPPCC organizations at all levels in Xizang have upheld the principles of Party leadership, the united front, and consultative democracy, promoting broader participation and involvement of people from all ethnic groups and backgrounds in state affairs, thereby addressing the pressing concerns of the public. Xizang is represented by 29 members on the CPPCC National Committee, with 93.1% of these members coming from ethnic minority groups. The 12th CPPCC Committee of the Xizang Autonomous Region consists of 429 members, with 59.91% being non-CPC members. Between 2013 and 2024, the CPPCC Committee of the Xizang Autonomous Region received 5,095 proposals. Of these, 4,920 were officially registered, and all of them were processed to completion, achieving a 100% resolution rate. Thank you.