Political Work

From "Suggestions Left Cold" to "Every Item Must Be Answered": The Troop Sentiment Suggestion Box Opens Up Democratic Channels

从“意见遇冷”到“件件必回”，兵情意见箱畅通民主渠道

PLA Daily (解放军报) 13 May 2026

Summary

A brigade of the 77th Group Army overhauled its troop sentiment suggestion box (兵情意见箱) system after a grassroots investigation found that officers and soldiers had stopped submitting feedback because earlier suggestions went unanswered — including requests for sports equipment and field training water stations that were acknowledged but never fulfilled. The brigade's fix centers on a 'every item must be answered' (件件必回) rule backed by a 'dual ledger, dual disclosure' (双台账、双公开) accountability structure that publicly names responsible sections, deadlines, and monthly scores from soldier representatives. The article documents a recurring institutional problem in PLA political work — formal democratic channels atrophying into formalism — and records one brigade-level attempt to restore their function through procedural accountability rather than exhortation alone.

Translation

From "Suggestions Left Cold" to "Every Item Must Be Answered"

— An Account of How a Brigade of the 77th Group Army Set Up Troop Sentiment Suggestion Boxes (兵情意见箱) to Open Up Democratic Channels

■ Xu Cong, Han Gang

Recently, Staff Officer Li of a certain brigade of the 77th Group Army opened the troop sentiment suggestion box and found that rank-and-file officers and soldiers had submitted a considerable number of opinions and suggestions on topics ranging from training support to education and management. After sorting and deliberation, more than ten of the opinions and suggestions were placed on the organ's work list and assigned to dedicated personnel for follow-up.

Staff Officer Li explained that last year, in order to open up democratic channels (畅通民主渠道), they had placed troop sentiment suggestion boxes at multiple locations throughout the garrison area and encouraged officers and soldiers to offer suggestions. At first, the organ regularly received opinions and suggestions submitted from the grassroots level; however, after some time, effective feedback from the grassroots became increasingly scarce.

On one occasion, while conducting a grassroots stay-and-investigate (蹲点) visit, Staff Officer Li discovered that officers and soldiers training in the fitness center frequently encountered the phenomenon of "queuing to wait for equipment," with some soldiers only able to squeeze in extra physical training during rest periods. "Why not report this to the organ?" Staff Officer Li stopped a soldier who had just finished an extra training session and asked. The soldier waved his hand dismissively: "Saying something won't do any good — better to say nothing."

After conducting in-depth inquiries, Staff Officer Li found that quite a few officers and soldiers held this same view. A soldier from one company had once used the troop sentiment suggestion box to report that "sports and recreational equipment such as basketballs and badminton rackets are severely worn out — please replenish them promptly," but the organ never replied, and the soldier never again submitted a slip to the suggestion box. A cadre from another company had proposed "adding drinking water heating stations at the field training site," and while the organ quickly replied "already included in the plan," the officers and soldiers never saw a single heating station by the time field training ended……

At the brigade's handover meeting (交班会), Staff Officer Li reported his research findings. "When officers and soldiers' suggestions are 'left cold,' over time they lose their enthusiasm for offering opinions and suggestions." The brigade's leadership pointed out incisively that democratic channels such as the troop sentiment suggestion box must not become mere window dressing — every suggestion from officers and soldiers must receive a timely response.

To this end, the brigade required that the organ's service to the grassroots must achieve "every item must be answered" (件件必回): opinions and suggestions submitted by officers and soldiers in the troop sentiment suggestion box must be answered by the organ in a timely manner; those that can be acted upon should be handled as quickly as possible; those that cannot be resolved immediately, after concentrated study by the Party committee, are to be incorporated into the annual work list. A "dual ledger, dual disclosure" (双台账、双公开) system was established: an "action ledger" (办理台账) is formulated to publicly disclose the responsible section, completion deadline, and person in charge; an "evaluation ledger" (评价台账) is established, with representatives of officers and soldiers organized each month to score the organ's service work and publicly post the results. In addition, the brigade introduced a "weekly summary, monthly assessment, quarterly notification" (周汇总、月评估、季通报) system to regularly report on the implementation of grassroots opinions and suggestions; those not completed on time must explain the reasons and submit to supervision.

Regarding the problem of low utilization efficiency at the fitness center, Sergeant Hu Sanwang submitted his suggestion to the troop sentiment suggestion box. Before long, the brigade organ, drawing on his proposed "off-peak use plan for physical training equipment" (体能训练器材"错峰使用"方案), formulated and issued the Detailed Rules for Off-Peak Use of the Fitness Center (《体能馆错峰使用细则》), effectively improving fitness center utilization efficiency by dividing usage time slots and extending opening hours.

"Stop always sending out questionnaires for research — suggest the organ conduct frequent on-site investigations at squads, platoons, and guard posts." "The upgraded field support equipment (野战保障装备) doesn't feel very 'handy' (趁手) to use — hope it can be improved"…… As the slips of paper in the troop sentiment suggestion box grew more numerous, one piece after another of "still-steaming" (冒着热气) soldier voices and soldier sentiments (兵声兵情) reached the organ directly. The author turned to the brigade organ's work list and saw that one after another opinion and suggestion from the grassroots had been converted into one concrete measure after another serving officers and soldiers.

Original Chinese

从“意见遇冷”到“件件必回” ——第77集团军某旅设置兵情意见箱畅通民主渠道的一段经历 ■徐聪韩刚近日，第77集团军某旅李干事打开兵情意见箱，发现从训练保障到教育管理，基层官兵提出了不少意见建议。经过梳理论证，10余条意见建议被机关列入工作清单，并由专人跟进。李干事介绍，去年，为了畅通民主渠道，他们在营区多个点位设置兵情意见箱，鼓励官兵建言献策。刚开始，机关经常能收到基层提交的意见建议，然而，一段时间后，基层有效反馈越来越少。一次，李干事在基层蹲点发现，官兵在体能馆训练时，经常出现“排队等器材”现象，有的战士只能利用休息时间加练体能。“怎么不向机关反映呢？”李干事拉住一名刚加练完的战士问。这名战士摆了摆手：“说了也没用，不如不说。” 经过深入了解，李干事发现抱有这种想法的官兵还不少。某连一名战士曾通过兵情意见箱反映“篮球、羽毛球拍等文体器材损耗严重，请及时补充”，可机关一直没有回复，这名战士便再没往兵情意见箱提交纸条；某连干部提出“在驻训地增设饮用水加热点”建议，机关虽然很快回复“已列入计划”，但官兵直到驻训结束也没看见加热点…… 旅交班会上，李干事报告了自己的调研情况。“官兵提出的‘意见遇冷’，久而久之便失去建言献策的积极性。”该旅领导一针见血指出，兵情意见箱等民主渠道不能成为摆设，官兵的每条建议都应得到及时回应。为此，该旅要求机关服务基层必须做到“件件必回”：官兵在兵情意见箱中提出的意见建议，机关必须及时答复，能办理的尽快办理，一时无法解决的，经党委集中研究后纳入年度工作清单；建立“双台账、双公开”制度，制订“办理台账”公开责任科室、完成时限及负责人，设立“评价台账”，每月组织官兵代表对机关服务工作进行打分并公示结果。此外，该旅推行“周汇总、月评估、季通报”制度，定期通报基层意见建议落实情况，未能按时完成的需说明原因并接受监督。针对体能馆利用效率不高的问题，中士胡三旺向兵情意见箱提交了自己的建议。没过多久，该旅机关根据他提出的“体能训练器材‘错峰使用’方案”，制订出台《体能馆错峰使用细则》，通过划分使用时段、延长开放时间等方式，有效提升体能馆利用效率。 “调研别总发问卷，建议机关经常到班排哨所实地调研”“升级后的野战保障装备用着不太‘趁手’，希望加以改进”……随着兵情意见箱里的纸条越来越多，一项项“冒着热气”的兵声兵情直达机关。笔者翻开该旅机关工作清单看到，一条条来自基层的意见建议，已转化为一项项服务官兵的具体举措。