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China’s cadres urged to connect with the masses as part of education campaign, but some question its methods

  • Communist Party officials study President Xi Jinping’s teachings on ‘grass-roots’ outreach – ideas the Chinese leader first promoted 35 years ago
  • Some observers praise programme’s effectiveness while others dismiss senior officials’ visits to local communities as publicity stunts

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Chinese President Xi Jinping (centre) inspects a sugarcane plantation in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on December 14. Photo: Xinhua

After hearing complaints about local water quality in the southeastern city of Hefei, the provincial party boss visited the neighbourhood to take a sip from the tap – as reporters and camera crews looked on – to assure residents it was safe to drink.

The gesture by Anhui province’s Communist Party secretary Han Jun was one of several covered by state-run media in recent months to show how party leaders have put into practice President Xi Jinping’s teachings about connecting with the masses.
According to the Anhui Daily, Han’s unannounced visit to the community was an example of how senior cadres had “put people’s interests first” by visiting residents to address their grievances – an idea Xi first promoted 35 years ago when he became party chief of the city of Ningde in the southeastern province of Fujian.
To mark the anniversary of the practice, Xi’s teachings have been promoted as part of an education campaign for cadres. In late December, hundreds of officials gathered in Beijing to attend a forum chaired by Politburo member Li Ganjie, with similar events held around the country.

However, while cadres are studying and imitating Xi’s ideas on how to connect with the masses, which have been dubbed the “four downs” in a reference to going “down to the grass roots”, some question the effectiveness of the methods and the education campaign.

A video of Anhui party boss Han taking a swig of Hefei tap water attracted plenty of “thumbs up” reactions on social media. But the 47,000 comments posted below the clip included many who appeared confused, with some asking how Han could check the quality of the water by drinking it.

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