A “Complaint Conference” was recently held in Huoqiu County, Anhui Province, aiming to break the habitual thinking of “reporting good news without reporting bad news” and to create an atmosphere of speaking freely. Many people questioned whether this was a case of “inviting trouble”.
According to the official website of Huoqiu County government, Huo Shaobin, a member of the Standing Committee of the Liuan Municipal Party Committee and Secretary of the Huoqiu County Committee, chaired the county-wide “Complaint Conference” on November 29. The conference was intended to break the habitual thinking of only reporting good news and to “create a democratic atmosphere where people dare to speak openly and address real issues”. Representatives from 20 organizations focused on discussing the bottlenecks, pain points, and challenges in economic and social development, with a time limit for their complaints.
It was reported that following the conference, the County Committee Office would review the complaints, establish a “Key Issue Ledger for the County’s Complaint Conference”, and carry out necessary reforms.
Participants in the “Complaint Conference” included leading officials from the Communist Party, government, People’s Congress, and Political Consultative Conference of the county, as well as officials responsible for economic development zones and various townships. The official report claimed that this “Complaint Conference” was a “self-revolution aimed at internal reform” and an open practice of gathering public wisdom.
In a report by The Paper, it was mentioned that in December 2024, Huo Shaobin had previously organized a county-wide “Complaint Conference” when he served as the Deputy Director of the Liuan Municipal People’s Congress Standing Committee and Secretary of the Jin’an District Committee.
In response to this, some netizens criticized the event, saying, “The key point is whether the issues raised during the complaints can be resolved. Just complaining without solving them makes it feel worse. Those who dare to complain must have the ability to solve them. Those that cannot be solved are not brought up.” Some also compared the event to Mao Zedong’s tactic of “inviting trouble,” questioning its true intentions and effectiveness.
Under the current leadership of the Communist Party, led by Xi Jinping, freedom of speech has become increasingly restricted, leading to numerous cases where individuals have been punished for their words.
On December 2nd, due to the sluggish real estate market in Shanghai, there have been reports online from citizens about drastic drops in housing prices, forced housing cut-offs, and predictions of an imminent real estate market collapse. In response, the Shanghai Cyberspace Administration announced the initiation of a special operation to clean up relevant content.