• The Mandarin term “居民委员会” is a paraphrase of the English term “Residents’ Committee”. 

• RCs were initially established in 1978 and came under the Prime Minister’s Office, before coming under the Ministry of Community Development.

• Since 1993, RCs have been operating under the People's Association (PA), which determines how RC zones are divided.    

• Each RC consists of 10 to 13 executive members whose functions encompass four aspects: to promote neighbourly, harmonious and cohesive relations amongst residents; communicate and make recommendations to government authorities regarding the needs and wishes of residents; disseminate information to and obtain feedback on government policies and actions from residents; and encourage residents be better citizens.

• Every block in the zone has a single representative or several representatives. They must be residents staying in the HDB block, and their main responsibility is to assist in RC’s work. As of June 1998, Singapore has a total of 480 RCs and 10,000 RC members.

• The Singapore Government announced on July 2018 that the current Residents' Committee (RCs) and Neighbourhood committees (NCs) will be replaced by the Residents’ Network for new HDB blocks and private residences. The existing RCs and NCs—totalling more than 860 nationwide—will also be able to decide if they wish to continue adopting the current model or to merge with nearby grassroots organisations, to set up a Resident’s Network with integrated resources. 

Prime Minister Lee said that grassroots organisations serve as bridges between the Government and its people, and that RCs and NCs need to continue attracting new blood. (Lianhe Zaobao, 20/07/2018)

• There are residents’ committees in Mainland China too. However, the nature of these committees, as well as their organisation and principles differ from those in Singapore. Residents’ committees in Mainland China are autonomous organisations formed by the people that mainly handle matters in their residential areas such as public affairs and public welfare. Additionally, they are also responsibly for communicating the opinions and needs of the residents to the government.