Direct township elections in China: Latest developments and prospects

Journal of Contemporary China

Volumn 15, Issue 48, 2006, Pages 503-515

  Lisheng, Dong ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ELECTION; GOVERNMENT RELATIONS; PARTICIPATORY APPROACH; POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT;

ASIA; CHINA; EURASIA; FAR EAST; SICHUAN;

EID: 33749036293     PISSN: 10670564     EISSN: 14699400     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/10670560600736533     Document Type: Article

References (32)

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2. 'Caiji zhen gongtui zhixuan dangwei shuji' ['Caiji Town uses the method of public recommendation and direct election of the Party secretary'], Xin Jing Bao [New Beijing News], (12 April 2004), p. A14.
3. 'Gongxuan zhenzhang, Suining kai le xianhe' ['Elect township government head, Suining takes the lead'], Chengdu Shangbao [Chengdu Commercial News], (29 December 1998);
4. 'Qusui zuimo yitian, wanyu gongmin maoyu canjia zhixuan' ['On the last day of last year, more than 10,000 citizens took part in the direct election under the rain'], Huaxi Dushi Bao [Western China Metropolis News], (3 January 1999);
5. 'Shuidang xiangzhenzhang, renmin shuo le suan' ['People decide who becomes the town or township government head'], Mianyang Ribao, chengshi ban [Mianyang Daily, urban edition], (5 January 1999);
6. 'Zhixuan xiangzhang' ['Direct election of township government head'], Nanfang Zhoumo [South China Weekend], (15 January 1999); 'Minzhu bu yunxu chaoyue falu' ['Democratization does not permit exceeding the law'], Fazhi Ribao [Legal Daily], (19 January 1999);
7. 'Zhongguo diyige zhixuan xiangzhang changsheng' ['China has the first directly elected township government head'], Fazhi Ribao [Legal Daily], (23 January 1999);
8. 'Dapengzhen jiang dansheng zhongguo shouwei minxuan zhenzhang' ['Dapeng Town will have China's first directly elected town government head'], Yangcheng Wanbao [Guangzhou Evening News], (28 April 1999);
9. 'Zhongguo diyige minxuan zhenzhang shangwu changsheng' ['China gets the first directly elected town government head this morning'], Shenzhen Wanbao [Shenzhen Evening News], (29 April 1999).
10. Li Fan et al., Chuanxin yu fazhan - xiangzhenzhang xuanju zhidu gaige [Innovation and Development - The Reform of the Electoral System for Town and Township Government Heads] (Dongfang chubanshe [Oriental Publishing House], November 2000);
11. Huang Weiping, ed., Zhongguo jiceng minzhu fazhan de zuixin tupo - Shenzhenshi Dapengzhen zhenzhang xuanju zhidu gaige de zhengzhi jiedu [The Latest Breakthrough Achieved on the Development of Grassroots Democracy in China] (Shehui kexue wenxian chubanshe [Social Sciences Literature Publishing House), March 2000);
12. He Baogang, 'From village to township: Will China move elections one level up?', EAI Background Brief No. 126, (29 June 2002);
13. He Baogang and Youxing Lang, 'China's first election of the township head: A case study of Buyun', Japanese Journal of Political Science 2(1), (May 2001), pp. 1-22;
14. He Baogang and Youxing Lang, 'Predicament in Buyun: A study of the first direct township election in China', Twenty First Century, Hong Kong no. 64, (April 2001), pp. 125-136;
15. Joseph Y. S. Cheng, 'Direct elections of town and township heads in China: The Dapeng and Buyun experiments', China Information 15(1), (2001), pp. 104-137.
16. In the widely distributed publicity materials, Guangdong and Shenzhen governments claim: 'Dapeng reform is a new breakthrough in China's local political structural reform since the implementation of the direct elections of deputies to local People's Congresses in 1981. To certain extent, it signals the new orientation of China's development of democratic politics'. See Zou Shubin, Huang Weiping and Liu Jianguang, 'Shenzhen Dapengzhen yu Sichuansheng Buyunxiang liangci xiangzhenzhang xuanju gaige mingyun zhi bijiao' ['A comparison of the fate of the two electoral reforms in Dapeng Town, Shenzhen City and Buyun Township, Sichuan Province'], Dangdai Zhongguo Yanjiu [Contemporary China Study] no. 1, (2003).
17. 'Buyunxiang xuanmin gongkai zhixuan xiangzhang houxuanren shishi banfa' ['The Buyun Township implementation methods for the open and direct election of township government head by voters, Dec. 1, 2001'], Zhongguo xuanju yu zhili wang [China Elections and Governance Website], 28 October 2002 (accessed 9 September 2004).
18. Yang Xuedong, Jubu chuanxin he zhidu pingjing: Sichuansheng Suiningshi shizhongqu 'gongtui gongxuan' xiangzhenzhang he xiangzhen dangwei shuji [Innovations in some Localities vs. Institutional Bottleneck: City Centre District, Suining City, Sichuan Province uses 'Public Recommendation and Public Selection' Method for Town and Township Government Leaders and Party Secretaries), available at: http://www.chinainnovations.org/read.asp?type01=5&type02= 3&type03=1&articleid=127 (accessed 9 September 2004).
19. Lai Hairong, 'Township elections in Sichuan', presentation at Symposium on the Cases of Competitive Elections of District Level People's Congress Deputies in Shenzhen in 2003, available at: China Election and Governance Website, 9 October 2003 (accessed 16 September 2003).
20. 'China has first county magistrate through the public recommendation and public selection process', Renmin Ribao [People's Daily].
21. Xie Kai and Sun Aidong, 'Gedi gangbu zhidu gaige de bada liangdian' ['Eight bright points in the reform of cadre system in localities'], Banyue Tan [Bi-monthly Talk] no. 16, (2004).
22. Ma Shengkang, 'Buyunxiang liangci xuanju de gaikuang,bijiao ji sikao' ['A general account, comparison and re-thinking of the two rounds of elections of the Buyun Township'], paper delivered at the Symposium on the Election Law and Electoral System, 12 September 2002, China Elections and Governance Website, 12 September 2002.
23. Huang Weiping, ed., The Latest Breakthrough Achieved on the Development of Grassroots Democracy in China.
24. Anhunqu, Yangren de xingqu bu yinggai zuowei haiwai minyun zhuyao guanzhudian de qushe biaozhun [Foreigners' Interest Should Not be a Criterion of the Main Focus of the Overseas Democracy Movement], available at: http://www.cdjp.org/gb/article.php/1517, 16 July 2004 (accessed 16 September 2004).
25. Hu Ping, Ran women buyao zai tan cunmin xuanju [Let's No Longer Talk about Villagers' Elections], available at: http://www.boxun.com/hero/ huping/228_1.shtml (accessed 16 September 2004).
26. Zheng Yushuo and Yan Shenghua, 'Zhonggong dangzuzhi zai xiangzhen renda daibiao xuanju guochengzhong de juese' ['The role of the Party organization in the election process of the People's Congress deputies'], Zhongguo renda xinwenwang [China People's Congress Website], 19 March 2002 (accessed 17 September 2004).
27. Lai Hairong, 'Township elections in Sichuan'.
28. He Baogang, 'From village to township'.
29. According to the official media and among academic circles, the first instance was the Communist Party's gaining of power on China's mainland by the guerrilla war in the countryside. The second instance was the launch of economic reform from the introduction of the household contract responsibility system at the end of the 1970s.
30. It was invented in Linyi County, Shanxi Provinve in the mid-1990s, under which all eligible voters rather than Party members cast a vote of confidence. Only Party members who received majority popular votes could stand for the election attended by Party members to become the Party secretary.
31. Wu Licai, 'Zhongguo nongcun xiangzhen de dangzheng fuzeren xuanju zhidu chuangxin ji gaige shexiang' ['Some suggestions on the institutional renovation and reform of China's electoral system of the town and township Party and government leaders'], Dangdai Zhongguo Yanjiu [Contemporary China Study] no. 4, (2003).
32. The small townships are roughly defined as having a population size smaller than 30,000 in the Eastern China, 20,000 in Central China and 10,000 in Western China. After the merger, the population size will be increased to 80,000-100,000 in the East, 60,000-80,000 in the Centre and 20,000-50,000 in the West.