Guizhou community embraces rule of law

Shushe community of Weining county, Guizhou province, is putting up eye-catching billboards to improve the legal consciousness of its residents.

In an effort to popularize knowledge of the law among residents of the community, billboards and signs with the content of the Civil Code are now seen along the main streets in Shushe.

"Conflicts of interests among residents often occurred and the outlook of the village was not good," said Guan Zhengfa, Party secretary of Shushe community. "The need to improve locals' legal knowledge and neighborhood relations was urgent."

As Shushe shook off poverty through the nectarine industry in 2020, the local government sped up building Shushe into a model community with rule of law.

The deserted train station－once the driving force of economic development－then became a hub to help improve social civilization and legal knowledge among the people.

"We tried to minimize the changes to the old train station and make full use of it so residents can keep their memories and also learn legal knowledge," said Kong Yun, an official with the Weining county's justice department.

An 800-square-meter legal culture square was established at the old train station.

To meet residents' demands for legal services, a people's mediation office was set up in Shushe community, providing legal consultancy and aid, according to local authorities.

A library was also set up in Shushe for residents to read relevant legal documents.

Fu Chenggang, a 22-year-old local, still recalls the whistling of the train in childhood.

"Changes in our community are great. In addition to the expanded road and renovated houses, I also feel people-to-people relationships are more friendly. There are no more physical fights and quarrels between residents," Fu said.

A college graduate, Fu decided to come back to his hometown and devote himself to its development, becoming a village official after graduation this July.

"Through the lectures held here, I learned the Land Law, which deals with the major problem in rural China, and it will benefit my future work here," said Fu.

"There are both online and offline lectures about different laws. The lectures provide us a tool to protect our rights."

In 2019, Shushe was honored as a model community with the rule of law by the Guizhou provincial government.

Recalling the start of the program, Guan, the Party secretary, said, "residents had concerns about the plan of building the community into a role model of rule of law, but after our explanation, they all get the meaning of the program and are very supportive."

Apart from providing legal services, all types of activities are held year-round. For instance, special campaigns about legal education were launched on traditional Chinese holidays, Guan added.

"By holding the activities, we expect villagers to proactively participate in the rule of law, and also enhance their abilities of self-discipline and self-protection."

In March 2020, the Shushe community was recognized by the Ministry of Justice along with another 1,044 villages and communities nationwide as a role model with the rule of law.

Zhang Chi contributed to this story.