Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, also Chinese President and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, delivered an important speech during his talk with the new leadership of the ACWF, in October 2023. To study and implement the guiding principles of that speech, and to implement the guiding principles of the 13th National Women's Congress of China, the Human Resources Development Department and the Social Liaison, Exchanges and Cooperation Center, both under the ACWF, recently released the list of 50 projects, with characteristic features, organized by women's social organizations across the country, and the list of 10 cases, with characteristic features, of women's federations connecting with and guiding social organizations. Here is one of the projects.

Project: Harmonious Marriages and Families in Xilin Gol Project

Organizer: Wenxin Yizhan Marriage and Family Development Association of Xilin Gol 

To promote harmony in families, and to protect women and children's legal rights and interests, Wenxin Yizhan Marriage and Family Disputes Mediation Office was established, under the People's Court of Xilinhot, in Xilin Gol League, in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, in 2016. The office began operating the Harmonious Marriages and Families in Xilin Gol Project in 2017. The project has provided more than 30,000 consultations, and it has helped mediate 8,000 cases, benefiting 6,000 families and more than 30,000 people. 

Efficient Services

Zhang Xiuyan, head of the office, is responsible for the project's operation. "While mediating family disputes, I realized disputes between husbands and wives often involved two big families, and several generations of people. To ensure the accuracy of my work, I have focused on completing basic tasks, which have included management of archives, establishment of family files, creation of bilingual (Mongolian and Mandarin) questionnaires, and operation of an online, legal-and-psychological-consultation platform," says Zhang. Due to lack of funding and personnel, she had a difficult time implementing the project. 

Xilin Gol covers a large geographic area, so Zhang has provided remote mediation services when parties involved have not been able to meet her in person. Sometimes, she has to meet the parties several times to mediate a resolution. 

In 2018, with support from both the women's federation and the people's court of Xilin Gol, Zhang established Wenxin Yizhan Marriage and Family Development Association of Xilin Gol. The association now has 106 members, who are experts in various fields. It also has a team of 41 mediators, and a 24-member, legal-aid committee. 

Bringing Hope to Families 

Given the rising divorce rate, in the region and across the country, raising children and caring for the elderly has become tough for many families. To prevent such problems from overwhelming families, the project in 2020 began providing premarital consultations, and pre-divorce mediation services. 

In 2021, the project established a family education research and guidance center, through which the project's staff has trained family education advisors and conducted family education courses. 

In 2022, the project's administrators, with the education bureau of Xilinhot, established a psychological-crisis-intervention mechanism aimed at primary and middle school students. 

Zhang remembers the sessions with one particular student; the girl, coping with her parents' divorce, felt incredible stress. She even had a difficult time walking by herself. Zhang provided psychological guidance to the girl, for free, for one and a half years. The girl eventually recovered. 

The project's staff has provided legal and/or psychological assistance to 1,200 minors during the past few years. 

Xiaoyu (not his real name), 9, had to take care of his paralyzed father after his parents divorced. The project's staff took care of Xiaoyu, and helped him with his studies each weekend. The staff also assisted his father when he had to be taken to hospital for treatments. The staff provided such services for more than a year, until the local government provided long-term aid to Xiaoyu and his father. 

Unique Methods

Based on their experiences, the project's staff has summarized several unique working methods for mediation. When they provide consultations, they explain relevant laws, and they offer advice on how to communicate efficiently. When they mediate disputes, they help protect the legal rights and interests of the parties involved. 

"Through the project, our work has been recognized by more people. We are able to both mediate and help prevent disputes," Zhang says. She hopes more professionals will join and help promote family harmony. She also hopes her team will help children in difficulties learn to live healthy lives, and to love their lives.

Photos from Interviewees

(Women of China English Monthly September 2024)

Editor: Wang Shasha