In August, the full text of the "Several Regulations on the Reduction of Burdens for Grassroots" issued by the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council was published to the public, emphasizing that the grassroots is the "last mile" for implementing the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee, and continues to reduce burdens and empower grassroots.

"I am also an old grassroots level. I am very concerned about grassroots work." During my work in Zhejiang, Xi Jinping has always adhered to and advocated true importance, sincere care, and sincere love for the vast number of grassroots cadres, and proposed that "government focuses on the grassroots level, work is tilted to the grassroots level, and care is passed on to the grassroots level."

The grassroots level is the foundation of the Party’s governance and the source of strength. Care about grassroots cadres, not only the task of "crossing the river" and also provide "bridges" and "ships" to effectively reduce the burden on grassroots units and give cadres more time and energy to implement them. At this time, facing the political task of promoting the normalization and long-term effectiveness of work style construction under the new situation, let us review the story of Xi Jinping's going deep into the grassroots and caring for the grassroots during his work in Zhejiang, and deeply study and understand his pragmatic style and feelings for the people.

"The vast majority of grassroots cadres are the backbone forces in doing a good job in grassroots work."

Xianjing Village, Baita Town, Xianju County, is as beautiful as its name. The young cadres in the town have attracted new business formats such as camping and village cafes, making this place a tourist check-in spot. It has received more than 80,000 tourists this year.

"The project can be implemented, but it cannot be separated from the old towns and towns doing mass work. At the grassroots level, the cooperation of the old, middle-aged and young people can promote work and serve the masses well." Zhou Yanzi, deputy mayor of the post-90s, said bluntly that town cadres have changed one after another, but everyone did not forget the advice of Secretary Xi when he came here for investigation.

Xianjing Village, Baita Town, Xianju County. Photo provided by Baita Town

On August 28, 2006, Xi Jinping came to Baita Town, Xianju County. At that time, Zhejiang was vigorously strengthening the construction of township leadership teams, and Xianju and other places were frequently discussed whether "old towns" should give way to young people.

"Hello, comrades!" Xi Jinping greeted grassroots cadres with a smile. "Let's sit closer, don't be restrained, and talk openly." Chen Honglei, then deputy director of the Organization Department of Xianju County Party Committee, recalled that the small conference room was filled with cadres from Baita Town, nearby towns and streets.

No one expected that the provincial party secretary was so easy-going, and the originally tense atmosphere eased a lot, and they all started talking: some people spoke for the "old towns" and the grassroots work was so hard. They have been on the front line for decades, so they can't just change it; some people think that in the future, they will be informatized, and young people's knowledge structure will be more matched; some people also suggested that the combination of new and old should be scientific proportions, and the team structure can be more optimized...

Xi Jinping listens and takes notes and answers questions from time to time. He emphasized that "we should pay attention to the age structure level of the leadership team", pointing out that handling emergencies and sudden natural disasters such as mass emergencies and flood control in Taiwan requires special "old towns". If all the people are replaced and the next time the typhoon comes, we have to "pay the tuition fee".

Baita Town and village cadres discussed the development of Xianjing Village B&Bs. Photo provided by Baita Town

"At that time, no one expected that Secretary Xi knew so well about us at the grassroots level, helped us analyze the problems, and figured out solutions for us to solve all the knots in our hearts." Although Duan Zhiyong, the mayor of Hengxi Town, Xianju County, was sitting in the back of the conference room, this scene still vividly remembered.

The grassroots level is the basis for strengthening the Party’s ruling capacity building. In his article "Zhijiang New Words" "Governance is at the Grassroots" "The key to improving the Party's governing ability lies in improving the capabilities of cadres at all levels, including grassroots cadres. For many years, Zhejiang has adhered to the cadre structure that combines old, middle-aged and young, and focused on strengthening the cultivation of cadre abilities and qualities, including grassroots cadres.

In 2006, the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee also made arrangements to guide and encourage college graduates to work in rural areas and communities, and put forward the goal of "one village, one community, one college student". That year, nearly 2,000 college students were selected to go to the grassroots level. The injection of fresh blood brings new horizons and new vitality to the grassroots.

In March 2007, Zhejiang recruited 145 civil servants from outstanding village cadres. Ke Feiyue, former village committee director of Sanxi Village, Butou Town, Xianju County, passed the exam and entered the civil service team. Now that he is the chairman of the township people's congress, he returned to the village and served as the secretary of the village party branch. "The identity has changed, but the original intention of serving the villagers has not changed." He led the villagers to integrate resources, build village industrial parks, introduce tourism, shoes, cold chain and other industries, and promote the village's industries from "low and small" to "intensive".

Over the years, Zhejiang has continuously improved the normal working mechanism for the training and selection of grassroots cadres, focused on optimizing the cadre team structure, strengthened the grassroots cadres with outstanding performance and willingness to do it, and provided strong organizational guarantees for the comprehensive revitalization of rural areas.

"Create necessary conditions for grassroots work"

Above the East China Sea, Dachen Island is located in a remote location. From 1956 to 1960, five batches of 467 young people climbed to Dachen Island, which was liberation soon, opening a legend of land reclamation, and giving birth to the spirit of land reclamation of "hard work, hard work, selfless dedication, pioneering and innovation".

Dachen Island Land Reclamation Memorial. Photo by correspondent Liu Xingchen

The island has gradually changed under the care of the Party Committee and the government and the spirit of reclamation from generation to generation. But 20 years ago, like many villages in Zhejiang, there were no formal office spaces in the six administrative villages here. "We have a rumor, 'Don't put the official seal on the waist of the pants, and open the meeting at home.'" Sun Shangquan, then secretary of the Party Committee of Dachen Town, talked about the past, and was very sad.

On August 29, 2006, Xi Jinping, then Secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee, took a boat for nearly two hours and braved the scorching heat to land on the island, and learned about the working conditions and living security of grassroots cadres with concern.

Sun Shangquan still clearly remembers that the road was a dirt road at that time, the office building was being renovated, and the scaffolding had not been demolished. "Secretary Xi proposed to go and take a look. He stood in front of the scaffolding and asked in detail how the office conditions were, how many people were in one room, whether it was enough." Understanding that the conditions of the cadre dormitory were still very difficult, Xi Jinping specifically instructed the local cadres present: "We must speed up the renovation of the dormitory."

"Under the care and promotion of the province, the infrastructure and living environment of Dachen Island have been significantly improved, and everyone finally has a decent office." Sun Shangquan said, "Villagers no longer have to look for cadres in the village for their work." The old problems such as island travel and office building renovation reflected by everyone have also received responses and solutions from superiors. Soon, the Party and Mass Service Center, Conference Room, and Archive Room were built one after another, party members' activities had a fixed position, and the accommodation conditions for cadres were also improved.

Plum Blossom Bay, Dachen Island. Photo by correspondent Tao Shuyu

Nowadays, next to the town government, the cadre dormitory is warm and simple. Considering the humidity on the island, a fresh air system has also been installed uniformly. "I moved my 'home' three times on the island, each time is brighter and each time is more and more at ease." Ye Hongming, a cadre of Dachen Island Town, read through his old diary and sighed that when he first transferred from the army to the island 20 years ago, his office and life were in a simple tiled house, surrounded by weeds, and it was common for snakes and insects to climb onto the bed. "Now, everyone has settled their hearts on this island, building Dachen with their hearts and emotions, and many people have taken root here."

During his work in Zhejiang, Xi Jinping was very concerned about the warmth and warmth of the grassroots. In the article "Zhijiang New Language" "Work to Grassroots", he emphasized that "it is necessary to "put appropriate tilt towards the grassroots as much as possible in terms of manpower, material resources and financial resources to create necessary conditions for grassroots to carry out work at the grassroots level." Under his concern, in June 2005, the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee issued a special opinion, proposing to strive to make all village-level organizations in the province without office space basically have about 100 square meters of office space by the end of 2006. In less than a year, all levels and departments have invested 1.43 billion yuan in funds, built more than 8,000 grassroots activity venues in villages, and have a solid "home" to do things and start businesses.

The real resource sinking and policy support have brought about real changes at the grassroots level. To date, Zhejiang Province has continued to carry out five rounds of village-level organization activity venue construction and improvement actions, and has built more than 25,000 village and community party and mass service centers.

"Help grassroots cadres take responsibility and overcome difficulties together"

"This place is like our 'charging station'. When you are under a lot of pressure, you want to stay here for a while." In the relaxation room of the Ruian Cadre Mental Health Promotion Center, a street cadre just finished his psychological relaxation training. He removed the monitoring sensor and looked soothing.

Ruian City Cadre Mental Health Promotion Center. Photo provided by Ruian Municipal Party Committee Propaganda Department

Building a cadre mental health promotion center is just a microcosm of Ruian's continued care for grassroots cadres over the years. Since last year, Ruian has squeezed out more than 150 staffing staff to prioritize the operation of key towns (streets), explore the reform of "strengthening towns and expanding power" in super-large towns, and further boost the state of cadres' work and entrepreneurship.

The concept of caring for the grassroots has taken root here and is originating from a symposium of grassroots cadres.

Time went back to December 26, 2004, and it was drizzling. After attending the groundbreaking ceremony of the Wen-Fu Railway (Zhejiang Section), Xi Jinping made a special trip to Chen Lianfeng, Secretary of the Party Working Committee of Pandai Street, Ruian, to inquire about the difficulties of grassroots work and the implementation of tasks.

It was almost noon, and Xi Jinping had a discussion with grassroots cadres. "As soon as Secretary Xi sat down, he said that he was also an old grassroots level and wanted to hear the difficulties we face in our work." Shao Wanzhi, then secretary of the Party Committee of Xinzang Town, still felt warm when he recalled, "This 'opening remark' suddenly narrowed the distance between us."

At the symposium, Shao Wanyi was the first to report. He was outspoken and said the "three difficulties and one hardships" of grassroots cadres: it is difficult to do work, problems are difficult to solve, people are difficult to manage, and life is difficult.

Afterwards, more than 10 grassroots cadres who participated in the discussion were heartbroken. "'One needle penetrates ten thousand threads', the power is small but the responsibility is heavy, the affairs are many and the pressure is high." "The people's demands are different from before, and the abilities of our township cadres must also be improved"...

Shao Wanxi recalled to reporters that after hearing what everyone said, "It's not easy", Secretary Xi emphasized three points with emotion: Governance focuses on the grassroots, work is tilted to the grassroots, and care is passed on to the grassroots.

"The most important thing about caring for grassroots cadres is not how much money or people to give to the grassroots cadres. The most important thing is to support grassroots cadres to resolve conflicts and solve problems, help grassroots cadres take responsibility and overcome difficulties together..." When Shao Wanqing saw these words in "Zhijiang New Words" "Caring for Grassroots More", he felt very kind.

Xi Jinping, who started working at the grassroots level and grew up step by step, is well aware of the importance and difficulties of grassroots work.

Ruian township cadres and the masses had heart-to-heart talks. Photo provided by Ruian Municipal Party Committee Propaganda Department

In June 2005, under the promotion of Xi Jinping, the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee issued relevant opinions on strengthening the construction of the grassroots cadre team, and clearly proposed to strive to create a good working environment for grassroots cadres, strictly control and standardize various inspection, evaluation, and compliance activities, vigorously reduce meeting documents, effectively improve the style of meetings, and truly reduce the burden on grassroots cadres, so that they can concentrate on doing practical things for the masses.

After getting the document, Shao Wanqing read it three times in a row. The more he read it, the warmer he felt: "This is not only a real concern for our grassroots cadres, but also a real support for reducing burdens."

Over the years, Zhejiang has persisted in adhering to the requirements of the "three grassroots" and has always placed care and motivation at the grassroots level in a prominent position, and has continued to promote good cadres to come from and go to the grassroots level. Over the past 20 years, more than 460,000 rural work instructors and more than 24,000 science and technology commissioners have been selected, and a large number of cadres and talents have "go to the mountains and rural areas" to take root in rural areas to serve the people. In the past three years, Zhejiang has carried out special recruitment of civil servants in mountainous island counties, recruiting a total of 1,485 people, and continuously injecting fresh blood.

Deep affection, consistent. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping has always attached great importance to grassroots work, and his footprints are spread all over the country. He listened to the voices of grassroots cadres and the masses, and continuously passed on care and care to the grassroots level, continuously rectified formalism and reduced burdens for grassroots levels, so that grassroots cadres can devote more time and energy to serving the masses, and continuously improve their grassroots governance capabilities in overcoming difficulties.