4 | Friday, August 20, 2021 EDITION | DAILY CHINA 58 billion Grassroots parcels handled elections nationwide

By LUO WANGSHU underway [email protected] More than 58 billion parcels were sent and received across China in the first seven months Polls for people’s congresses at town of the year as the express delivery and county levels proceed smoothly sector maintained steady growth, the State Post Bureau said. By Cao Yin The number was up about 43 [email protected] percent year-on-year. International package ship- Elections of new deputies to peo- The elections at ments also bounced back thanks ple’s congresses in township and township and to effective control measures tar- county-level regions are proceed- geting the COVID-19 pandemic. ing smoothly, the General Office of county levels that are The number of international par- the National People’s Congress being developed cels, and ones delivered from or Standing Committee said. Visitors interact with a robot at the United Arab Emirates booth at the fifth China-Arab States Expo, received in , Hong Kong The nation kicked off the elec- nationwide are an which opened in Yinchuan, capital of the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, on Thursday. and Macao, rose 36 percent year- tions of new deputies to people’s important channel HU DONGMEI / on-year to 1.25 billion. congresses at the township and The expansion of the express county level in the first half of this for realizing whole- delivery system is especially con- year, according to the office of the process people’s venient for rural residents. country’s top legislature. Cooperation: Trade totaled $239.8b in 2020 In the first half year of the The office said on Tuesday that democracy.” year, more than 20 billion par- grassroots elections in three pro- Sang Yucheng, professor of cels were handled in rural areas, vincial-level regions — Shanxi, political science at Fudan From page 1 lion by 2020, while the latter’s president, said the CRCC will deploy a year-on-year increase of 30 Hebei and the Tibet autonomous University investments in China totaled $3.8 more resources in key markets such percent. region — have been completed, China has become the largest billion. as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as its All county-level regions and 98 and 28 other provincial-level areas ing democratic election, negotia- trading partner of Arab countries, Thanks to the tangible growth of subsidiaries there have already built percent of townships have access would follow no later than the first tion, decision-making, manage- which are China’s largest overseas the BRI, Construc- many projects, including bridges, to express deliveries. half of next year. ment and supervision, adding that supplier of crude oil, thanks to their tion Corp Ltd, a State-owned infra- tunnels, buildings, roads, residen- The elections of deputies to peo- among them, the election has fun- complementary trade structure, structure project provider, plans to tial buildings, office complexes and ple’s congresses at the grassroots damental status and big signifi- according to data from the ministry. complete construction of Rotana other commercial buildings. level is an important part of Chi- cance. Bilateral trade totaled $239.8 bil- Hotels and Resorts in Dubai, the I used to buy na’s whole-process democracy, Shang Hongri, a professor of lion last year, while China’s exports United Arab Emirates, a landmark Hu Dongmei in Yinchuan experts said. political studies at Shanghai Nor- to Arab countries grew by 2.2 per- hotel construction project worth contributed to this story. clothes in small The Electoral Law stipulates that mal University, said that democra- cent year-on-year to $123.1 billion. 340 million dirhams ($92.6 mil- shops in the an election committee should first cy in China is not only a means to China’s direct investment in Arab lion), in September 2023. Contact the writers at divide counties or townships into solve people’s problems, but also to countries amounted to $20.1 bil- Wang Wenzhong, the CRCC’s vice- [email protected] township, usually several electoral districts and allo- let them participate in political old-fashioned, but I cate the number of deputies for affairs. didn’t have many each electoral district. Then it “The participation at the town- needs to administer voter registra- ship and county levels provides the Science: Innovation required in space projects choices.” tion, examine voters’ qualifications right and a chance for residents to Shao Fang, a resident of and determine election dates. be closest to democracy — they can Chunshui town, Zhumadian, Before presiding over the voting, realize democracy more directly,” From page 1 power on Earth for more than nents — a core module attached to Henan province, who has the election committee should seek he said. 10,000 years. two space labs — with a combined changed her shopping habits and verify information on candi- Services for holding township “Space programs help China Guo also said that research on weight of nearly 70 tons and it will from brick-and-mortar stores dates, and then determine the and county-level elections must be advance its science and technology, lunar samples is one of the most become one of mankind’s largest to online shops since an validity of elections and release guaranteed and improved, enable the country to demonstrate important ways for scientists to know pieces of infrastructure in space. express delivery outlet lists of elected deputies, the law “because such elections are the and bolster its engineering capabil- about the past, present and future of The entire facility is set to operate opened close to her home says. start of the whole-process democ- ities, create a great deal of socioeco- the , and it also helps a lot when for about 15 years, mission planners All Chinese citizens who have racy”, Shang said. nomic benefits, offer opportunities they investigate the evolution of oth- have said. Shao Fang, who lives in Chun- reached the age of 18 have the right “If the elections are well held, to a wide variety of businesses, and er members of our solar system. The central section of the station — shui, a town in Zhumadian, He-­ to vote and stand for election, people’s demands and ideas in inspire and motivate students and Since becoming China’s top lead- Tianhe — was put into orbit in April. It nan province, has changed her regardless of ethnicity, race, sex, grassroots areas will be smoothly other young people. I can name er in late 2012, Xi, who is also gener- is now connected with the Tianzhou 2 shopping habits from brick-and- occupation, family background, delivered to the national-level many reasons for the nation to sup- al secretary of the Communist Party robotic cargo spaceship, launched in mortar stores to online shops religious belief, education, proper- authorities, and the residents’ port space endeavors.” of China Central Committee and late May, and the Shen­zhou XII space- since an express delivery outlet ty status or length of residence, it problems can be better solved,” he In the coming days, Chinese chairman of the Central Military craft that transported three astro- opened in a grocery store close to added. added. astronauts on board the core mod- Commission, has stressed the signif- nauts to the module in mid-June. her home. Sang Yucheng, a professor of Besides the people’s attendance ule of the icance and value of the space indus- Based on project plans, the Tian- “I used to buy clothes in small political science at Fudan Universi- in political affairs, Liu Leming, an will conduct their second extrave- try on many occasions and has zhou 3 cargo ship will be launched shops in the township, usually ty, said, “The elections at township associate professor at East China hicular activity, or spacewalk, which made several specific instructions to in September to dock with Tianhe, old-fashioned, but I didn’t have and county levels that are being University of Political Science and is expected to take several hours at space authorities. and in October, another three-mem- many choices,” she said, adding developed nationwide are an Law, said democracy in China also an altitude of about 400 kilometers. ber crew will fly in Shenzhou XIII to that more chic choices are availa- important channel for realizing highlights the transparency of the They will install and fine-tune Encouraging letter the module to stay there for six ble from online stores. whole-process people’s democra- whole process, adding people’s equipment outside the core module Each time Chinese workers make months. It usually takes three to five cy.” opinions should be collected at during the spacewalk. a remarkable achievement, the In 2022, two large space labs will days to receive a package, she said. The term whole-process people’s every step. As of Friday morning, the Shen-­ president sends them a congratula- be launched to connect with the core In addition to receiving goods democracy was first put forward by The NPC Standing Committee’s zhou XII crew had flown with Tian- tory letter or personally meets with module. In addition, two manned they have purchased, rural resi- President Xi Jinping during an general office said on Tuesday that he, or Harmony of Heavens — the their representatives. missions and two robotic cargo dents use the network to send inspection tour of Shanghai’s it has urged local authorities to set first and central component of the In February, Xi met officials, sci- flights will be made to continue con- agricultural produce to cities Hongqiao subdistrict in November up election committees to perform Chinese space station — for nearly entists and engineers involved in struction of the Tiangong station. near and far. 2019, when he said, “We’re march- organizational and voter-service 64 days. They are scheduled to the Chang’e 5 lunar mission, China’s Upon its completion, Tiangong Walnut grower Rozmemet, ing on a political development duties, such as conducting the remain in space until mid-Septem- most sophisticated and challenging will be manned regularly by groups from a township in Kashgar, Xin- road of socialism with Chinese accurate registration of voters, ber, when they will return to Earth. space mission by that time, which of three astronauts in periods last- jiang Uygur autonomous region, characteristics, and our people’s ensuring the voting rights of Now, the country has set an even brought back the world’s first lunar ing several months. During hand- used to contact truck drivers to democracy is a whole-process migrant populations and safe- bigger goal — to land its astronauts samples in more than 40 years. overs to new three-member crews, send walnuts to Shanghai after democracy.” guarding people’s right to be on the lunar and Martian surfaces He listened to a report about lunar the station will accommodate up to the annual harvest season, usual- Xi, who is also general secretary informed, to ensure the people can and then bring them back safely. samples, project developments, sci- six astronauts. ly in September. But now trucks of the Communist Party of China participate in and oversee grass- Pang said all spacefaring nations are entific findings, international coop- Hao Chun, director of the China from YT Express, a major express Central Committee and chairman roots democracy. giving great importance to space sci- eration and future plans. He also Manned Space Agency, said his delivery company, collect his of the Central Military Commis- Under the newly revised Elector- ence and technology and are making inspected a sample of lunar soil agency will strive to make the best walnuts at the door. sion, highlighted the term in a al Law, the numbers of deputies to all-out efforts to develop their space obtained by the Chang’e 5 mission. use of the station to advance space The walnuts can now travel speech at a grand gathering in Bei- people’s congresses at township programs, because “no one wants to During the meeting, the president science, technology and application. across China, and are even being jing on July 1 to mark the Party’s and county-level areas have been lag behind in this new space era”. urged space industry workers to He said scientists will be able to sent to the northeastern prov- centenary. adjusted to include more members Guo Hongfeng, a researcher at the take advantage of China’s unique take advantage of the facility’s ince of Heilongjiang. Sang said whole-process democ- from those at the primary level and National Astronomical Observato- resource-mobilization system when unique environment to perform Last year, 10 million parcels of racy involves many aspects, includ- communities, the office said. ries of the Chinese Academy of Sci- they plan and carry out future space mutation breeding experiments, 60 kinds of produce, including ences, said there are many sorts of programs. produce special medicines and cre- tangerines from Yichang, Hubei resources in space that can be util- He also asked them to foster more ate new materials, thus generating province, and cherries from Yan- Rice harvest ized for the common good of innovation and growth in the coun- scientific, technological and eco- tai, Shandong province, were humanity. try’s space science, technology and nomic benefits. shipped via express delivery. “For instance, the moon has an application sectors, and strengthen The State Post Bureau abundance of mineral resources, international cooperation to make Shared asset launched a three-year campaign including titanium, silicon and alu- bigger contributions to the well-be- Ji Qiming, the agency’s assistant last year to further expand the minum. Among them, the most valu- ing of mankind. director, said outer space is a shared network at the grassroots. able is helium-3, an ideal fuel for In May, after the nation’s first inter- asset of all people on Earth, and space At a State Council executive future power plants. planetary adventure — the Tianwen 1 exploration is a universal cause for meeting last month, Premier Li There are presumably 15 to 20 metric mission — successfully touched humankind. He stressed that China Keqiang reiterated that China tons of helium-3 on Earth that can be down on Mars, Xi sent a congratula- is open to cooperation and exchanges will improve the delivery logis- exploited by humankind, but the tory letter calling it a new milestone with all nations and regions around tics system in rural areas. reserve of this substance on the moon in China’s space industry. He said the globe that are dedicated to the The move, part of efforts to is at least 1 million tons,” she said. that space workers’ achievements peaceful use of outer space. advance rural vitalization, will “Many scientists have mentioned had earned the nation a leading place In addition to the Tiangong sta- further facilitate the flow of agri- the mining of helium-3, because if in the global arena of interplanetary tion, China has announced a series cultural produce to urban house- such an element can be mined and expeditions, and their contributions of cutting-edge programs to be car- holds, and that of consumer taken back to Earth, it will revolution- will be remembered forever. ried out in the near future, ranging goods to rural areas. ize the energy and power industries.” The biggest and most important from deploying multiple probes on The bureau has set a goal of , a senior adviser space project China is carrying out the moon to placing a lander on building a safe, efficient, open to China’s lunar program and its is the in-orbit construction of its Mars to fetch dirt and rocks and and two-way rural delivery net- former chief scientist, said that if permanent space station Tiangong, return them to Earth. work to benefit the rural popula- A farmer winnows rice in Duchang county, Jiangxi province, on mining the moon for helium-3 and or Heavenly Palace. Scientists and engineers are also tion by 2025. Wednesday. The county has been promoting technology that obtaining nuclear power from it Upon its scheduled completion, racing against time to develop a Chen Kai, its deputy director, allows the harvesting of a second crop from the same roots since becomes a reality, this source of before the end of 2022, the station super-powerful rocket to land Chi- said all villages will have access to 2014 to increase production. FU JIANBIN / FOR CHINA DAILY energy could be used to generate will consist of three main compo- nese astronauts on the lunar soil. express delivery services by then.