In the spacious fitness centre of a luxury residential compound in Beijing, the head of the landlords' committee, Shu Kexin, explains why he is now engaged in a bid to get elected to his district's virtually powerless legislature. "I'm not interested in the elections. What I want is to use these elections to show people that they have the right [to stand], that they can do this without being sent to prison or getting in trouble," says Mr Shu, who is also a specialist in public policy at one of the city's top universities. Every five years, urban Chinese go through the ritual of voting for candidates selected by the Communist Party and about whom they are told next to nothing to fill seats in the district congresses. These form the bottom rung of a multilayered parliamentary system and are the only level at which the party allows even the pretence of public participation in the choice of delegates. In early December it will be the capital's turn. But this time Mr Shu, and several other Beijingers, are determined to break with tradition and get their names on the ballot sheets without the party's prior endorsement.
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