The documentary "Hotline Beijing", which premiered this week in Los Angeles, has offered a compelling and insightful portrayal of China's city governance and exemplifying the country's people-centered philosophy in action. Through real-life stories, the documentary vividly captures innovative reforms underpinning China's city governance that aim to ensure citizens' complaints and needs are swiftly and efficiently addressed, with Beijing's "12345" citizen service hotline underpinning its narrative thread. The hotline has gained international recognition as a model for local governance. In the film, matters that seem mundane, from parking management to elevator installation in aging residential buildings, are revealed to have real implications for people's livelihoods. Zhou Dandan, the director, said preparations for the documentary revealed the complexity of the city government's response to public complaints. "For us, creating a documentary requires a solid foundation and many factual bases, so we spent a long time researching -- almost two months -- which ultimately helped us determine the direction of our entire story," said Zhou. Among the guests of honor invited to the premiere ceremony on Monday were representatives from the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles. "This film has recently received the Special Award at the 2nd Golden Bear Awards," said Li Zhiqiang, China's deputy consul general in Los Angeles. According to Li, the documentary chronicles Beijing's grassroots governance reforms from diverse perspectives, vividly illustrating people-centered social management approaches and pioneering pathways for community-level governance. In 2019, Beijing launched the "swift response to public complaints" initiative. Integrating dozens of hotline services into one unified hotline number, "12345" acts as the primary channel for locals to raise their requests. Official statistics reveal that the platform, operating around the clock with more than 1,700 operators, has processed approximately 150 million public complaints over the past six years, with resolution and satisfaction rates reaching nearly 97 percent. Once a complaint is submitted via the "12345" hotline, it is immediately directed to the appropriate government departments or public service organizations for resolution. The complainants then evaluate the outcome, ensuring that the public remains actively involved in monitoring, assessing, and overseeing the city's governance process. SHOTLIST: Los Angeles, USA - Sept 22, 2025 1. Poster of premiere screening of "Hotline Beijing"; 2. Director of "Hotline Beijing" being interview; 3. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Zhou Dandan, Director, "Hotline Beijing": "For us, creating a documentary requires a solid foundation and many factual bases, so we spent a long time researching -- almost two months -- which ultimately helped us determine the direction of our entire story."; 4. Various of premiere ceremony in progress, attendees; 5. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Li Zhiqiang, China's deputy consul general in Los Angeles (ending with shot 6): "This film has recently received the Special Award at the 2nd Golden Bear Awards."; 6. Poster of premiere screening of "Hotline Beijing"; 7. Documentary being screened. [Restrictions: No access Chinese mainland]