The-Power-of-Youth

ThePowerofYoutharel='nofollow'onclick=doyoo.util.openChat();returnfalse;href=#OnJuly7,OuJiayang,a23-year-oldGuangzhounativeinsouthChina’sGuangdongProvince,metwithHouYongquan,Directorofthecity’sUrbanandRuralConstructionCommission.Ouhadwaitedmonthsforthismeeting.Asafreshcollegegraduate,insteadoffindingajob,OustartedacampaigninMaychallengingthelocalgovernmentonacostlylightingproject.OnApril21,theGuangzhouUrbanandRuralConstructionCommissionproposeda150-million-yuan($23.49million)lightingprojectforthebanksofthePearlRiverthatrunsthroughthecity.“Iamnotsaying‘no’tothisproject.Butthegovernmentspent200millionyuan($31.32million)onasimilarprojectlastyear,”Ousaid.“Iwantthegovernmenttotellmewhythecityneedsmorelightingalongtheriverbank.”UnremittinginquiryOu’scampaignfollowedtheactionsofPengYanhui,anotherGuangzhounativewhoworksforanon-governmentaleducationorganization.AttheendofApril,PenglaunchedacampaignonWeibo,China’sTwitter-likemicro-bloggingservice,protestingagainstthelightingproject.Heshavedhisheadandcalledonhissupporterstoshavetheirheadsandputthebaldheadpicturesonline.Pengnamedhiscampaign“TheBrainIsBrighter.”“IneverthoughtIwouldinitiatesuchanactivity.Iusedtoregardpublicaffairsasnoneofmybusiness,”Pengsaid.“ButasanativeofGuangzhou,IlovethiscitysomuchandIwantittobecomebetter.Itismyresponsibility.”ThesesentimentswereechoedbyOu.“Peoplealwayscomplaininsteadoftakingactionstofulfilltheirresponsibility,”shesaid.ChenDu,oneofOu’sfriendssaidwhilemanyfeltthelightingprojectwasflawed,noonebelievedOu’scampaignwouldhavearealimpact.“Iwasthinkingiftherewasafeasibilityreport,thenwhydidn’tthegovernmentpublicizeitsothatwecouldallgetaclearideaoftheproject?”Ousaid.“Wehavetherighttoknowhowandwhyourtaxpayers’moneywillbespentontheproject.”Peng’scampaignservedasaninspirationforOu,whothenstartedtocollectphotosofthethumbs-upgesturefromthosewhosupportherdemandforthelocalgovernmenttomakepublictheproject’sfeasibilityreport.Duringthecourseofhertwo-monthcampaign,Ouvisitedseveralgovernmentdepartmentsandsubmittedpetitionsrequestingthefeasibilityreportbereleased.Shefound,however,shewaspassedfromonegovernmentdepartmenttoanother,asnosectionwaspreparedtomeetherdemand.Ou’seffortsfinallyprovedsuccessful.DirectorHouoftheGuangzhouUrbanandRuralConstructionCommissioninvitedherforaface-to-facemeetingonJuly7.Atthemeeting,Housaidthelightingprojectwasstillbeingevaluatedandthefeasibilityreportwouldbepublishedonceitwasapprovedbythemunicipalgovernment.“IamsatisfiedwiththeUrbanandRuralConstructionCommission’sresponse,”saidOu,whofoundthemeetingwithHoumeaningful,dubbingita“goodinteractionbetweenthegovernmentandthepublic.”Shesaidshewouldcontinueapplyingforthedisclosureofthereportandworktoencourageyoungpeopletotakeaninterestinpublicaffairs.DevotiontohistoryLikeOuandPeng,agroupofcollegestudentsinGuangzhouarebusywithanothercampaigntopreserveanoldstreetinthecity.In2007,theGuangzhouMunicipalGovernmentannouncedplanstorenovatethe80-year-oldEnningRoad.AsthelongestroadinGuangzhoulinedwithqiloubuildings,atraditionalstyleofurbanresidentialhousing,EnningRoadistherepositoryofmuchofthecity’shistory.BruceLeeusedtolivethereandhisformerresidencestillstandsalongthestreet.In2009,whenXieWenjun,aGuangzhounativewhowasstudyinginauniversityinBeijing,wentbackforhissummervacation,hewasshockedtoseeEnningRoad,widelyknownasoneofthemostappealingpartsofGuangzhou,completelyaltered.“MostoftheoldcommunityisnowaconstructionsiteanditishardtotracetheplacesIhaveknownsincemychildhood,”Xiesaid.Xiebegantotakepicturesandcollectmaterialsfromtheremainingqiloubuildingsin2010.Healsointerviewedthearea’sresidents.HepostedtheresultsofhisresearchonlineandinvitedmorepeopletojoinhiminthetaskofdocumentinglifeonEnningRoad.XiaoLang,a22-year-oldstudentwhowasborninGuangdong’sMeizhouCity,joinedXie,asdidanother10collegestudentsfromGuangzhou.“AlthoughIamnotfromGuangzhou,IknowifIdon’tdothis,maybethenextplacetobedemolishedwillbemystreetathome,”Xiaosaid.InMarch2010,XieandhisfriendsformedtheAcademicConcernGroupofEnningRoad.Usingtheresultsoftheirsurvey,theyproducedareportonthesocialimpactoftheEnningRoadrenovationproject,andcameupwiththeirowndevelopmentplanforthearea.TheyalsoproducedadocumentaryusingtheinterviewstheyconductedwithresidentsinthestreetanduploadeditonTudou.com,apopularvideosharingwebsiteinChina.Alltheirefforts,however,didn’tstopthelocalgovernmentfromproceedingwithitsrenovationplans,butXiaoinsiststheirworkismeaningfulfortwomajorreasons.“First,ourworkmightleadtoreflectionsonthecurrenturbanplanningmodel,”Xiaosaid.“Second,itwillremindyoungpeoplenomatterhowlittleweknowandhowsmallweseem,westillhaveavoiceandcanmakeitheard.”SuccessfulattemptsWhileXiaowasunabletosaveGuangzhou’sqiloubuildingsonEnningRoad,somespontaneouspublicaffaircampaignsinthecityhavebeenverysuccessful.ChenYihua,a16-year-oldstudentfromGuangzhou’sNo.16HighSchool,forexample,wasabletohaveanimpactonplansfortherenovationofstationsalongGuangzhou’sSubwayLine1.InJune2010,Guangzhou’smetroauthoritiesmadeplanstorenovate16subwaystations.Thetotalinvestmentintheprojectwasexpecte