Local citizens: assuming responsibility for a better city

Some 20 representative Wuxi citizens were invited to attend the second session of the 16th Wuxi People's Congress as observers on Jan 7. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Some 20 Wuxi citizens were invited to attend the second session of the 16th Wuxi Municipal People's Congress as observers on Jan 7.

They are from all walks of life in the city, including community workers, white-collar worker and retirees.

They agreed that the breakthroughs Wuxi has made over the past year, such as reaching a one trillion yuan GDP and a growth speed in economic development that exceeds the average for Jiangsu province, are not only highlights in mayor Wang Quan's report but are also genuinely felt in their daily lives.

To build a better city, they offered some hot suggestions during the conference that common citizens may well support.

"It's true that shared bikes bring convenience to daily life, but the random parking also influences the beauty of a city," Xue Lina from Liangxi community said. "So, how to prevent something new from affecting the construction of a civilized city is what the government needs to think about."

As for the pattern of the cultural tourism economy proposed by the government work report, Wang Fuzhong, a retired citizen, suggested that since the old town in Wuxi boasts a long history and deep culture the government should further improve its surrounding environment and make it another Wuxi name card.

Pan Hua, a worker from the new energy industry, felt more confident about his future after learning that development of new energy and new energy vehicles would be local government's main focus next year.

He also suggested that the government should formulate policies about recycling power batteries of new energy vehicles as soon as possible to prevent secondary pollution.

Workers of the Wuxi People's Congress recorded all the suggestions and intend to report them to appropriate agencies.