The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in July 2024 emphasized the need to advance whole-process people's democracy, develop diverse forms of democracy at all levels, and ensure that the principle of the people running the country is manifested in concrete and visible ways in all aspects of China's political and social activities.

Children participate in a summer camp organized by the Jinjiadun Community in Tangjiadun Subdistrict, Jianghan District, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, July 26, 2023.

Hubei Province actively explores the practice of democracy at the grassroots level. Since 2022, the province has launched an initiative to jointly build a beautiful environment and a happy life. This initiative mobilizes the public to engage in "extensive consultation, joint development, collaborative management, collective evaluation and benefit sharing," aiming to address the pressing difficulties and problems that concern them most. It ensures that the people are the masters of the country and live a happy life, laying a solid foundation for promoting further progress in China's human rights and modernizing China's governance system and capacity.

Extensive consultation and joint development aim to identify the needs of the people, pool their wisdom, and mobilize all parties to participate in grassroots governance. For instance, the Shuiyun Community in Yangyuan Subdistrict, Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province, is an old residential community with predominantly walk-up buildings and retired faculty members as residents. In 2018, the residents repeatedly called for elevator installations, but progress was hindered by opposition from lower-floor residents and disputes over cost allocation. The community mobilized the residents to set up an "elevator installation governance committee," through which the community proposed a "step-based allocation method" of allocating the cost according to the proportion of steps shared by each household to the total number of steps, thus facilitating elevator installations. Inspired by the successful experience of the Shuiyun Community, the rest of Hubei Province followed suit. By the end of 2023, a total of more than 2,100 elevators had been successfully installed in the province, effectively addressing challenges in the renovation of old residential communities.