By Setope So’oa’emalelagi
(Former NUS lecturer and now with the Beijing Foreign Studies University, China.)
I grew up in a picturesque village in Samoa called Leulumoega Tuai, literally translated as “the resting place”.
Samoa is a remote island nation in the South Pacific, some 10,399 km from mainland China.
Historically my village in ancient times was where district chiefs would gather and promulgate customary laws.
People organized themselves into family units, clans, towns, districts, and finally, the government. Cultural traditions are difficult to discard over time, even during periods of colonial rule.
For Samoans, the system of government which remains to this day is its traditional ‘Matai’ system or chieftain system mixed with a Constitutional Parliamentary system.
For about three thousand years before the arrival of Europeans and the written script in 1830, chief conferences at designated ‘capitals’ in Samoa were highly ritualized affairs social organization orators and their families would make careful preparations to ensure that everyone’s views were heard, that the root and branch of society had a voice, and that leadership was secured and honored.
The Two Sessions with great inclusivity
The Two Sessions of 2023 have profoundly affected how I look at China and have given me an incredible insight into Chinese governance.
The National People’s Congress (NPC) and its Standing Committee exercise national legislative power. From March 4, 2023, and the last two weeks, nearly 3,000 deputies have gathered in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, a magnificent building.
Two Sessions in such a historical, conventional, extraordinary landmark political venue, this scene makes me awe and respect.
What impressed me most was the “inclusivity”, the “scale”, the “range” of national issues discussed, from economics to family planning and a vision of global multi-polarity to boosting the development of poorer countries. In fact, in social matters, no stone was left unturned.
In the words of respected Chinese international correspondent Li Jing Jing (who covered the entire conference) in an interview in Beijing on March 24, 2023, “China is about ‘whole process peoples democracy’ involving all sectors of society in the decision-making process.
The two sessions is the fundamental guarantee for people to make decisions, legislate, elect government officials and give proposals to the central government.”
She articulated something which foreign media either overlooked or put in the out tray.
She said “representatives from counties, cities, provinces meet respectively weeks in advance of the Two Sessions itself.
Why? To make sure opinions and proposals from the full spectrum of society, from the bottom to the top and from local govemment to central government to make it to Beijing”.
As if to reinforce her analysis, she cited interviewing a female teacher in a rural school in Shandong province whose principal goal in life was to improve a lot of children in rural schools.
Fifteen years later, with over 240 proposals, over half of her suggestions have been written into Chinese relevant law.
Astonishing! from improving school facilities to recruiting qualified music and art teachers to child psychologists.
The Chinese nation with unity and diversity
The contrast between China and Samoa could be so different, especially in population and size. Samoa is a speck on the world atlas in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean with 200,000 people and ten times smaller in land area than Hainan Island.
Yet its relations with China’s diplomatic, migration, economics and trade date back to the early 1800s, which reminds me why the Two Sessions serves as a reminder that China’s warm rise is an important incentive for Pacific developing nations after decades of colonialism.
The two key bodies, the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) leadership, held separate meetings but at the same time, discuss China’s economic and social development for the next five years at least in The Great Hall of the People.
The very people attending the Two Sessions represent every corner, every province and every ethnic group of this vast and magical land China.
The land is magical, and lifting 800 million people out of poverty in 40 years is not a trick. So, what is it? You only must look at the diversity and colorful array of costumes proudly displayed by the Miao, Tibetans, Mongols, Hui, and 12
INTERNATIONAL TALENT
Zhuang, to name several of the 56 recognized ethnic minorities at the Two Sessions. Loyalty to national aspirations and patriotism comes with pride in dress, language, and beliefs.
There is unity in diversity, and China has set its course over 5,000 years of civilization.
A people-centered philosophy of development
At the close of the National People’s Congress. The Chinese President Xi Jinping made an important speech at the closing ceremony of the NPC and he said, “I will faithfully fulfill my responsibilities bestowed by the Constitution, with the nation’s needs as my mission and the people’s interests as my yardstick”.
In addition, President Xi Jinping spoke of a philosophy that promotes equality among people and a people-centered philosophy of development so that modernization is shaped according to socialism with Chinese characteristics.
The South Pacific Island nations are inspired by China’s emergence as a global superpower as China’s range of aid and development is realized through the Belt and Road Initiative.
What the next five years have to offer, time will tell, but the future is bright, and as a Samoan Chiefs proverb goes, “O le ala I le Matai o le tautua” translation, “The way to leadership is through service” as was reflected in the “Two Sessions” of 2023.