By Huang Zhiling (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-08-22 07:17

CHENGDU: Zheng Xiangyang has made headlines since last month when he became a member of the Datong Town Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) of his district.

"That's because I am the only firm manager in Sichuan to become a member of a town committee of the CPC," he told China Daily, not wanting to comment further about his selection.

Zheng is the general manager of the Chengdu Branch of Jushi Group Co Ltd, which is based in the Qingbaijiang District of Chengdu, capital of Southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Without any pay from the town committee, Zheng will have the same rights as other members of the town's Party committee members.

That includes the right for Zheng to air his views on major town affairs and participate in decision-making.

The Jushi Group Co Ltd in East China's Zhejiang Province is China's largest fiberglass producer while its Chengdu branch is the largest private firm in the Qingbaijiang District.

Located in northern Chengdu, the district is home to some 50 large private firms. After an investigation, the district Party committee's organization department found many private firms wanted to know how the local party committees made decisions and wanted to participate in the decision-making process.

"As a result, the department decided to choose excellent Party members from private firms to work as members of town Party committees," Luo Chunrong, deputy chief of the Qingbaijiang District party committee's organization department, said.

Earlier this year, the district began experimenting with the reform of introducing Party members from private firms to its town committees in Datong. On July 18, Zheng was chosen from nine candidates.

Wang Jiakun, secretary of the Datong Town Party committee said Zheng's selection was win-win for the Party and the private sector.

"Datong has a big cluster of industrial firms," he said.

"His participation in the decision-making in the town's party committee would help keep firms informed of the local government's policies. On the other hand, Zheng as an excellent firm manager can help the town's Party committee serve local firms, draw lessons from the operation of private firms to save the cost of administration and help the local Party committee be more efficient."

(China Daily 08/22/2007 page4)