"Lingnan Garden in Lai Chi Kok Park" Wikipedia.Web
Political Overview
Because of Guangzhou's distance from the centers of political power in Beijing and Nanjing, it entertained the idea of provincial independence for many decades. As a result, Guangdong adopted a Republican government and had two consecutive governors of the region. These Republican administrations carried out numerous programs of development. The governments carried the slogan "Guangdong for the people of Guangdong." Guangdong managed to retain its independent form of government and carry out projects to help the people of Guangdong, such as improving infrastructure and promoting manufacturing. This autonomy ended in 1949 when the Communist government took over the province and exercised its power from the capital. The government set up a Communist Provincial government and brought in outsiders from Beijing to rule it.
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Political Leadership
The government of Guangzhou is structured to make administrative orders, determine budgets for public programs, and create economic plans to benefit the city. Of recent, the major campaigns the government has lead have been towards economic expansion and sustainability. The city is a municipality in China's Communist hierarchical system that includes the national level, provincial level, municipal level, and neighborhood level. Leaders are selected by a standing committee at the provincial level of Guangdong. The leaders of Guangdong include the mayor, executive vice mayors, vice mayors, and specific bureaus in charge of civil affairs. The city of Guangzhou is divided into 10 districts which all have police substations and neighborhood associations that also solve civil affairs such as schooling, mediating disputes, and supervising sanitation.
Political Priorities
The main priority of the city over the past 30 years has been to expand the economy. Due to political and economic instability after the Cultural Revolution, Guangzhou saw little to no progress during the 1960s and 70s. The communist government only allowed factories to be built in one district, so industry started to shift largely outside the city. The city however was the only foreign trade center in China at this time, so efforts were made to make foreign affairs easier. Among the efforts were the construction of luxury hotels, the Chinese Export Commodities Fair Center, and the main railway terminal in the city center. Other than these projects, Guangzhou saw little progress during these decades and resembled other poor, overpopulated cities in China. However, during the era of reform for the surrounding province during the 1980's, Guangdong became a breeding ground for new economic policies including the establishment of special economic zones to encourage investment from foreign companies. Guangzhou quickly rose to the forefront of development in China by introducing specialized secondary industry. These special economic zones offered low taxes, cheap labor, and little to no export tax. These zones ultimately greatly contributed to the industrialization of Guangzhou.
The second priority of Guangzhou is improving its environment, so it can remain a pleasant city in coming years. The city has contributed lots of resources to restoring the city's greenery and air quality. Having natural areas is key to creating a more comfortable area for the citizens and wildlife. Also, Guangzhou’s efforts for air quality have paid off because the city sees the best air qualit of any major city in China. The city area is so large that much of its surrounding region is undeveloped, so the government has set aside thousands of acres for natural forest land.