Over Half of Village Committee Elections are Completed

Home>>China

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, November 25, 2002

Over Half of Village Committee Elections are Completed

DISCUSSION

CHINESE

SEND TO FRIEND

Village Heads Discuss China's Rural Development

More than half of China's provinces and autonomous regions have completed elections of a new term of village committees. A great number of young and capable officials are taking up the new positions to lead their villages. Most of the new village leaders are Party members and educated.

Since the second half of last year, 25 provinces and autonomous regions have held elections for a new term of more than 600,000 village committees. Nearly 400 million villagers are involved in the campaign.

It's the first round of large��scale local elections since the Provisional Law on the Organization of village committees went into effect in 1998. The law grants the country's 900 million farmers the right to elect their village leaders.

Now, 18 provinces and regions including Guangdong, Shandong, Chongqing, Anhui, Xinjiang and Tibet have completed the elections. Statistics show that voter turnout is more than 80 percent.

The percentage of Party members in the village leadership is high, as is their education level, while the average age is lower. One of the committee members in Guangdong Province is only 19 years old.

In regions with many people ethnic minorities, such as Qinghai province, more than half of the elected officials reflect that.

Officials say farmers' rights to recommend, register, nominate, vote and veto have been fully implemented during the campaign.

They added that the system of villagers administrating their own affairs has become a model of grass��roots democracy with Chinese characteristics.

China started the village committee system in 1978. The system lets villagers run their own affairs. The village committee, the most widespread grass��roots organization in China's rural areas, governs the most important elements in daily life and production, including money, grain, housing and land.

Questions?Comments? Click here

Tibetans Elect Their Local Leaders

Grassroots Democracy Flourishing in China

Cabbage Tells Changes of Beijingers' Life ( 12 Messages)

A 'Xiaokang' Society Means Not Merely Money ( 5 Messages)

China Starts Working out Law on Citizen ID Card ( 33 Messages)

Differences between US and NATO Widen: Opinion ( 2 Messages)

Sino-US Relations Improve Despite Neo-realism ( 27 Messages)