People's money, people's choice

The citizens' participation in budget program was initiated in Wenling, Zhejiang province, in July 2005 to encourage more people to take part in politics. For nearly five years since then people have panned the local government's budget, stimulating the functions of the local people's congress.

Precious experience has been gained from the program, making the Wenling formula a model for citizens' participation in politics.

People's participation can be realized in three stages of budget planning: preparation of a draft by a government, its review by the local people's congress and the final assessment.