China embraces grassroots democracy

CHENGDU - Retirement has proved a busy time for Tian Jingyu. The former police officer, 69, leads a five-member council that discusses issues of importance to the Beiyuan neighborhood, where 1,300 people live in Chengdu, Sichuan province.

"Things can be small or big. From sewage to fences, from roads to garbage centers. We respond to matters of collective importance," Tian said.

Before the council was set up, such matters were managed by the Jinyang community, the upper-level administrative body. The decision-making process was top-down and mandatory.