Editor's note: 2023 marks the 60th anniversary of Comrade Mao Zedong's instruction to study and promote the "Fengqiao Experience", and also the 20th anniversary of General Secretary Xi Jinping's instruction to adhere to the development of the "Fengqiao Experience". Recently, in order to deeply implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and inherit and carry forward the "Fengqiao Experience", the Songjiang District Bureau of Justice organized the people's mediators of the whole district to carry out an essay activity with the theme of "My Mediation Story", telling vivid stories in people's mediation work, showing the demeanor of the people's mediator team, highlighting the important role of people's mediation work in promoting people's livelihood and maintaining social harmony and stability, and gathering the consensus and joint force of the whole society to care about and support people's mediation work. A total of 33 submissions were received from grassroots people's mediators, and a total of 10 excellent works were selected after evaluation and scoring, and we will display the selected works one by one to promote mutual learning and exchange.
Let's listen to their sincere and wonderful mediation stories!
Zhu Xinru
Mediator of the People's Mediation Committee of Xiaokunshan Town, Songjiang District
"I love mediation, residents come to the Commission to find me if they have questions, believe me, I have found the value of life in mediation!" This is my "heart" for the people's mediation work.
2023 is a special year for me. This year is the 60th year that Comrade Mao Zedong gave instructions to study and popularize the "Fengqiao Experience" and the fifth year that I have been engaged in mediation work. In the past five years, I have felt the magic of people's mediation in social governance in the midst of "change" and "unchanged". The "change" is reflected in the fact that I have grown from a fledgling "novice in the post" to an "expert" who can calmly deal with various disputes. I always adhere to the concept of "people's mediation for the people", actively solve problems for the masses, resolve conflicts and disputes with heart and affection, and help maintain social harmony and stability.
Keep your original intention and illuminate the hearts of the masses with microlight
People's mediation is rooted in the cultural tradition of "peace is precious", has the characteristics of taking root at the grassroots level and being close to the masses, and is also known as the "first line of defense" for maintaining social harmony and stability. The people's mediator is the most important and basic unit of this mechanism, and is the link and platform between the parties. I remember when I first engaged in mediation, I often heard a sentence, "The interests of the masses are not trivial, and the problems of people's livelihood are greater than the sky." "Since then, I have regarded the affairs of the masses as my own, taken seriously every party who comes to the Commission for mediation, paid attention to the people's livelihood demands of the parties, and built an effective communication bridge between the people.
Master skills and use reasonable methods to resolve contradictions among the masses
Grassroots mediation is condensed by feelings, so only by mastering skills and using the right methods in the mediation process can we enter the hearts of the parties and solve the crux of the contradiction.
First, it is necessary to straighten out the idea of mediation. The method is correct, and the mediation work must first determine the mediation ideas. During my first few months of mediation, Mr. Fan from the Institute of Justice was my mentor, and I didn't know much about mediation. The first case I handled was a marriage and family dispute, the two parties were husband and wife, and there was a quarrel over trivial matters, but the contradictions between the parties were not deep, but the woman insisted on divorce. They came to the Commission for help, and after listening to the demands of both parties, I actually talked to the parties about the provisions of the Marriage Law on the dissolution of marriage, instead of thinking about how to weaken the contradictions between the parties and calm the disputes between the parties. Teacher Fan interrupted me on the spot, and I realized that my mediation thinking was wrong. After reflection, I concluded that the first step in mediation is to straighten out the thinking, once the thinking is wrong, it may intensify the contradictions between the parties and deviate from the purpose of mediation.
Second, it should be based on facts, based on law, and based on human feelings. To resolve contradictions and disputes, it is also necessary to have a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the actual situation, and patiently and meticulously repeat the work. I once mediated a dispute over the death of a drinking party. Wang (pseudonym) was invited to drink with a friend, and on the way back due to drunkenness and unconsciousness, he accidentally fell into the river and drowned, and the family of the deceased demanded compensation from the fellow drinkers. After handling this case, I immediately communicated with various parties, understood the facts of the case, and consulted the relevant cases. During the mediation process, from the perspective of "legal reason", the fellow drinkers were informed that they were at fault for Wang's death and needed to bear responsibility, and at the same time explained similar cases to the parties and persuaded everyone to give in to each other. After three mediations, the parties reached an agreement, signed a people's mediation agreement and implemented it on the spot.
Third, we must fully respect the wishes of the parties concerned. In the process of mediation, it is necessary to gain insight into the hearts of the parties, respect the demands of the parties, and flexibly use working methods. Recently mediated a case involving three brothers who had a dispute over the division of their inheritance after the death of their parents. The parents left a house worth about $2.5 million, and one of the applicants wanted to sell their share, while the other two were resolute in refusing to sell the house or buying share. After learning about the situation from the parties, I found that the root of the conflict was not entirely in the inheritance, but in the previous estrangement between the three parties due to supporting the elderly, and since the applicant did not support the elderly, the other two brothers believed that they should not be assigned an inheritance, and therefore did not accept the applicant's idea of selling the house. In this case, I adopted a "back-to-back" mediation approach, doing the ideological work of the three parties separately, trying to promote a settlement between the parties by persuading the applicant to give certain compensation to the other two parties. However, after two mediations, although the applicant made some concessions, there was still a gap between the expected amount of the other two parties, and the applicant finally requested that the mediation be terminated. In the face of family conflict and dispute cases that have accumulated deep grievances, I usually persuade the parties that family affection is priceless, that there should be no overnight feud between relatives, and that family affection between each other should not be hurt because of interest disputes. However, mediation is carried out on the basis of the voluntary consent of the parties, and we can only respect the request of the parties if one party is unwilling to mediate, which is also a basic principle of mediation.
Study and practice understanding, and win the trust of the masses with practical work
As I came into contact with more and more parties, became more and more experienced in mediation, and when I was recognized by more and more parties, I was filled with a sense of accomplishment, and I also developed great interest and enthusiasm for mediation work, and I was more determined to shine in grassroots mediation work.
I continue to study outside of work and continue to accumulate legal knowledge and mediation experience. On the one hand, I pay attention to taking work as the starting point, relying on job learning and improvement, recording the blind spots of legal knowledge encountered in work, enriching the reserve of legal knowledge, sorting out and summarizing various mediation cases, and refining mediation methods and skills; On the other hand, I patiently listened to the demands of the parties, even in the face of unreasonable demands, mood swings, and dissuasion from the masses, I calmed down to listen more, think more, and understand more. If I encounter a difficult and complex case, I will communicate with the judge at the Xiaokunshan Judge Workstation, discuss with leaders and colleagues, and explore the best solution through consulting materials. The successful resolution of contradictions and disputes, the handshake of the parties and their sincere gratitude are my inexhaustible driving force for moving forward on the road of people's mediation.
Some small Wu Caozhou county officials, one branch and one leaf are always concerned. "Trivial matters" are precisely the things that the masses are most concerned about, and that affect their happiness the most, and this is also my duty as a people's mediator. In the future, I will continue to take root in the grassroots, build a "bridge connecting hearts" in the hearts of the masses with professionalism, sincerity and enthusiasm, shine in ordinary posts, and contribute my own strength to the construction of Ping'an Songjiang!