YoungliondancersfromHuaide.byWangLei
FangQuanweiexplainsthevillagecodeofHuaide,whichhasbeenpreservedintheancestralhall.Familytraditionshavegreatlyenhancedthegovernanceofthecommunity.byWangLeiFromasmallfishingvillagetoabustlinginternationalmetropolis,Shenzhenhasundergoneenormouschangesoverthepast40yearssinceChinaimplementedthereformandopening-uppolicy.Duringthisexponentialgrowth,changeshavetakenplacenotonlyintheadministrativesystembutalsointheideasandconceptsofsocialgovernance.
InMay,journalistsfromChinaPictorialvisitedHuaideCommunityofFuyongSub-districtinBao’anDistrict,Shenzhen.FromtheHuaideAncestralHalltothecommunityservicecenterandtotheresidents’homes,theylearnedaboutthedramaticchangesthathaveoccurredinyesterday’svillagesthankstotheadministrativeconceptsofmoderncommunities,featuringjointcontributionandsharedbenefits.
First“DividendVillage”
UponenteringHuaide,knownasthefirst“DividendVillage”inFuyongSub-district,visitorswillseeseniorspleasantlychattingunderthetreesoryoungmothersplayinggameswiththeirkidsinfrontoftheancientancestralhall.ThefamousShenzhenspeedseemstoslowwaydownthere.
ThehistoryofHuaide,literallymeaning“honoringancestors’benevolence,”canbetracedbacktothelateNorthernSongDynasty(960-1127).
“Huaidehasexperiencedtremendouschangesthankstofavorableconditionsinclimate,geographyandhumancapital,”assertsFangQuanwei,whohasservedasavillageofficialforover20years.“Overthepastfewyears,wehavecapitalizedoneachfavorablecondition,includingourcountry’simplementationofeconomicreformandopening-uppolicies,ourgeographicallocationnearHongKongandMacaoandourgreatvisionandunity.”
Locatedinwest-centralBao’anDistrict,HuaidelinksthenorthandthesouthofShenzhen.
Before1979,HuaideVillageprimarilyearnedalivingfromagriculturalproduction,anditsannualpercapitaincomewaslessthan200yuan.In1983,itbeganseekingexternalinvestmentandlaunchedanindustrialpark.
Intheearly1990s,HuaideVillagereceived30millionyuanincompensationforlandacquisition.Thevillagecommitteeagreedthatthemoneyshouldbeusedforthelong-termdevelopmentofthecollectiveeconomy.
Villageofficialswentdoor-todoortopersuadethoseentitledtocompensationtojoininalong-termplan.Eventually,allvillagersagreedtousethemoneytobuildanindustrialpark,whichwasnamedCuigangNo.1IndustrialParkandcovered47,000squaremeters.
Intheaftermathofthelongstretchofrapidurbanization,villageofficialshavemaintainedakeeneyeforbusinessdevelopment.Theyhavecontinuouslymaintainedandenjoyedappreciationofcollectivelandresourcesandpracticedlarge-scalelandacquisitionandconstructionofindustrialareas.Theyhireoutsideprofessionalstoenhancethedevelopmentofcommercialrealestates,conductintensivereformandarenowintheprocessofbuildingamoderncentralbusinessdistrictaswellasanindustrialparktoboosttheheadquarterseconomy.
By2017,thetotalassetsofcollectivelyownedenterprisesinthevillagereachedover5billionyuan,withprofitsof460millionyuanandpercapitadividendsof310,000yuan,makingHuaidetheleading“DividendVillage”inthelocalityandtheprideofitsresidents.
FromVillagetoCommunity
In2004,ShenzhenhasteneditsurbanizationofruralareasandbecamethefirstcityinChinatoeliminatetheruralinstitutionsystemandhouseholdregistration.
HuaideVillagewasalsorestructuredintoHuaideCommunity,anditscollectiveeconomywastransformedintoashareholdingsystem.Thevillagerswereelevatedtocommunityresidentsandshareholders.
Therapidadvancementofindustrializationandurbanizationhasspawnedthe“rampant”growthofvillagessuchasHuaide.Problemssuchasrealestatespeculation,populationinflux,renovationandmaintenanceofdilapidatedbuildings,environmentalsanitation,anddisputesamongneighborshavetriggeredconcernsastohowthestabledevelopmentoftheentirecommunitywouldbeensured.
Huaidepeopleareagainusingtheirwisdomtoleadtheestablishmentofauniquepatternofmodernizedcommunitygovernance.
AccordingtoPanJiaodong,Partychiefofthecommunity,twoprominentfeaturescharacterizeHuaide’scommunitygovernance.Firstly,theyincreasethesayofthecommunity’sPartycommittee,whichconsolidatesthePartycommittee’scoreposition.Secondly,theyhighlightservicetothepeopleandpromoteapatternfeaturingjointcontribution,jointgovernanceandsharedbenefits.
Overthepastfewyears,thecommunity’sPartycommitteehasmadeconsiderableachievementsingovernance.ItsetuptheCommonHomelandConstructionCommittee(CHCC),PropertyManagementAssociation,andVolunteersAssociationinadditiontovarioussocialorganizationstotakecareofseniorresidentsandprovideeducationandtraining,culturalandsportsentertainment,andneighborhoodaid.
Sinceitsfounding,theCHCChasfocusedonaddressingthemostpressingissuesinthecommunity,hearingresidents’complaintsandbrainstormingsolutionswithallorganizationsandpeoplefromdifferentgroupstoeffectivelyhandleconflictsanddisputesinatimelymanner.
Moreover,thecommunityhascarriedoutvariouscharityactivitiestoattractcivicparticipationfromthewealthy.The“SilverHair”choirhasattractedmanyseniorswholovetosing.Theyouthbasketballleagueprovidesyoungpeoplewithmoreactivities.After-classchildcareserviceshavesolvedtheproblemofthegapbetweenthetimewhenchildrengethomefromschoolandwhenparentsgethomefromwork.
“Ourdreamsarewaypastcontentment,”smiledPanJiaodong.“Ourfinalapproachistoencourageeveryonetomakeadifferencealongsidesocialprogress.”
InaccordancewiththeunifieddeploymentofBao’anDistrict,in2017,Huaidewasdesignatedasapilotcommunityfortheestablishmentofagoverningsystemformoderncommunities.Mother’sKitchenBakeryinHuaideCommunity.byChenJian
Veterancommunityvolunteersdelivervegetablestohouseholdswithseniorsovertheageof70.byChenJian
ResidentsofHuaideCommunitytakeagroupphotoinfrontoftheancestralhall.byWangLeiGoodFamilyTraditions
Huaidetakesprideinitsincomparableadvantages,whichincludegoodtraditionsthathavebeenhandeddownfromgenerationtogeneration.
“SincethefirstsettlementofthePanclan,thepeopleofHuaidehavemaintainedgracefulConfucianfamilytraditions,”explainsPanJiaodong.ThesefamilytraditionsandparentalguideshavebeencompiledintotheChroniclesofHuaideVillage,whichhasbeendisseminatedthroughvariousformssuchassongs,culturalworksandinscriptionsinthePanAncestralHall.Tothisday,residentsinthecommunityhavefollowedthosetraditionspassionately.
VolunteeringisanothercommonpracticeinHuaide.Thecommunity’sVolunteersAssociationwasestablished,andover30percentoflocalresidentsareengagedincommunitycharityactivities.
Since2016,volunteershaveprovidedvegetable-purchaseservicestothedoorstepsoftheelderlyovertheageof70livinginthecommunity.Overthepastcoupleofyears,thecoverageofthisvoluntaryservicehasevolvedfrom40to50householdstoalllocalfamilieswithvulnerablepeoplesuchastheelderly,thesickandtheinjured.
Inrecentyears,manysocialworkteamsinShenzhenhavebeguntoopenofficesinlocalcommunitiestoworkmoreprofessionallyandefficiently.
Huaidehasalsolaunchedacharitablecarefundwith1.3millionyuanfromlocalshareholdingcompaniesandmorethan300,000yuanfromotherorganizations.Thefundaimstohelpthepoor,encourageadvancementandsupportentrepreneurship.