The Mass Line: An Important Methodology Used by China …
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ultimate success in this grand campaign. Here is some valuable experience in the
green campaign and the pursuit of green governance with Chinese characteristics.
We should promote the development of an ecological civilization for the benefits of the people. Western environmental movements are often based on a naturecentered, as opposed to human-centered system of values. Western ecological governance policy makers often regard creating higher surplus value as the primary goal,
ignoring the needs and interests of the working class. Different from these, China’s
model of ecological civilization development is designed based on the CPC’s mass
line, with the interest of the people in mind. President Xi Jinping once pointed
out that the purpose of both economic growth and environmental protection is to
improve people’s living standards. We should create more material and spiritual
wealth to improve the people’s life quality and provide more high-quality public
goods concerning the environment in response to the collective rise in people’s awareness of the environment and health. In response to the Chinese people’s growing
environmental awareness, we should create more environmental and public health
benefits for the people by focusing on solving outstanding environmental problems,
speeding up the improvement of the quality of the environment, providing more
high-quality ecological products and striving to achieve social fairness and justice.
For example, we have launched many mass environmental campaigns to control air,
water, and soil pollution in urban and rural areas, aiming to improve the environmental quality as well as the life of citizens. Obviously, the purpose of building an
ecological civilization is to meet the people’s growing demand for a better environment. To achieve this, we must adhere to the Marxist political stance and serve the
people wholeheartedly in the process of promoting the development of ecological
civilization.
We should increase public participation in the development of an ecological civilization. Top-level design and adherence to professional paths are of course important to the development of an ecological civilization, but what’s more important is to
engage the masses. In accordance with the Party’s mass line, we have always regarded
the masses as the main stakeholder in the development of an ecological civilization.
The CPC Central Committee and the State Council have pointed out that “we must
continue to carry out the mass Beautiful China campaign. This campaign mobilizes
the public to participate in environmental protection and aims to benefit the whole
country. We must strengthen the publicity and education relating to ecological civilization development, establish a system of values and codes of conduct for this
purpose, and encourage the masses to take the initiative to participate in the Beautiful China campaign.” Specifically, the government has insisted on relying on the
people, effectively achieved scientific, democratic, legal, and ecological decisionmaking, and accelerated the country’s transformation towards sustainable development. For example, in 2007, Xiamen City in Fujian Province decided to launch the
PX (p-Xylene) project but many Xiamen citizens expressed their concerns about the
project’s negative impact on the environment and health hazards in a rational way.
In the face of opposition, the Party and government authorities of Fujian Province
and Xiamen City decisively terminated the project, providing a model for democratic decision-making on ecological issues. In the social sphere, we have gradually
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ultimate success in this grand campaign. Here is some valuable experience in the
green campaign and the pursuit of green governance with Chinese characteristics.
We should promote the development of an ecological civilization for the benefits of the people. Western environmental movements are often based on a naturecentered, as opposed to human-centered system of values. Western ecological governance policy makers often regard creating higher surplus value as the primary goal,
ignoring the needs and interests of the working class. Different from these, China’s
model of ecological civilization development is designed based on the CPC’s mass
line, with the interest of the people in mind. President Xi Jinping once pointed
out that the purpose of both economic growth and environmental protection is to
improve people’s living standards. We should create more material and spiritual
wealth to improve the people’s life quality and provide more high-quality public
goods concerning the environment in response to the collective rise in people’s awareness of the environment and health. In response to the Chinese people’s growing
environmental awareness, we should create more environmental and public health
benefits for the people by focusing on solving outstanding environmental problems,
speeding up the improvement of the quality of the environment, providing more
high-quality ecological products and striving to achieve social fairness and justice.
For example, we have launched many mass environmental campaigns to control air,
water, and soil pollution in urban and rural areas, aiming to improve the environmental quality as well as the life of citizens. Obviously, the purpose of building an
ecological civilization is to meet the people’s growing demand for a better environment. To achieve this, we must adhere to the Marxist political stance and serve the
people wholeheartedly in the process of promoting the development of ecological
civilization.
We should increase public participation in the development of an ecological civilization. Top-level design and adherence to professional paths are of course important to the development of an ecological civilization, but what’s more important is to
engage the masses. In accordance with the Party’s mass line, we have always regarded
the masses as the main stakeholder in the development of an ecological civilization.
The CPC Central Committee and the State Council have pointed out that “we must
continue to carry out the mass Beautiful China campaign. This campaign mobilizes
the public to participate in environmental protection and aims to benefit the whole
country. We must strengthen the publicity and education relating to ecological civilization development, establish a system of values and codes of conduct for this
purpose, and encourage the masses to take the initiative to participate in the Beautiful China campaign.” Specifically, the government has insisted on relying on the
people, effectively achieved scientific, democratic, legal, and ecological decisionmaking, and accelerated the country’s transformation towards sustainable development. For example, in 2007, Xiamen City in Fujian Province decided to launch the
PX (p-Xylene) project but many Xiamen citizens expressed their concerns about the
project’s negative impact on the environment and health hazards in a rational way.
In the face of opposition, the Party and government authorities of Fujian Province
and Xiamen City decisively terminated the project, providing a model for democratic decision-making on ecological issues. In the social sphere, we have gradually