Reform of Township Head Election Methods: Case Study

Author: Huang Weiping
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-02-01
Features: The term "commune" refers to the change in the grassroots political system, with its main characteristic being the integration of the political and the collective. As early as in early 1955, the Ministry of Civil Affairs criticized the integration of the political and the collective, calling it "replacing politics with the collective" or "theory of the decline of the state." Chen Yi, in the April 14, 1955, National Third Civil Affairs Work Conference, said the Ministry's criticism was "irrelevant to the point." Indeed, not only was it irrelevant, but the integration of the political and the collective actually expanded the role of the state to an unlimited extent, with only the form disappearing. Therefore, Chen Boda submitted a report to the Central Committee and Chairman Mao on January 7, 1957, suggesting that the township or village government and the agricultural collective could be merged, making the agricultural collective itself the grassroots political organization, while the administrative work of the township or village could be handled by a deputy head of the collective, who would not need to give up their job, would not receive a salary, but would only receive a small subsidy from the government. At the same time, Chen Boda also suggested merging the supply and marketing cooperatives and credit cooperatives into the agricultural production cooperatives, making them the supply and marketing department and credit department of the agricultural collective. The Central Committee adopted Chen Boda's report, and Mao Zedong further elaborated that the integration of the political and the collective was the prototype of communism, overseeing everything from industry, agriculture, commerce, education, and the military. Tan Zhenlin also said at the agricultural cooperation conference that the cooperatives had undergone changes in their political organization, economic management, and functional scale, and that the old system no longer suited the situation. As for the name "commune," it was approved by Mao Zedong and standardized nationwide. On August 6, Mao Zedong inspected Xinxiang, Henan, and saw the signboard of the Qiliying Commune and said, "The name 'People's Commune' is good." On the 9th, when inspecting Shandong, he said again, "It's still better to establish People's Communes, as their advantage is that they can integrate industry, agriculture, commerce, education, and the military, making leadership easier." These speeches were quickly published by the People's Daily, and in a lengthy report on August 23, it was said that the People's Commune would soon lead people to the "highest paradise in human history" of "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need." As a result, the movement for People's Communes quickly reached its peak. For example, Henan Province, which was the first to receive Central Committee approval for People's Communes, acted quickly. On August 13, the provincial party committee made a phone call to the Central Committee, reporting that more than half of the province had established People's Communes, with the Xiuwu County People's Commune in Xinxiang being a single commune per county, with a total of 29,193 households. The People's Commune was once a political movement, which later evolved into a special grassroots political system. On August 17, 1958, the enlarged meeting of the Central Political Bureau was held in Beidaihe, and Mao Zedong had the "Agricultural and Forestry Department" prepare a report titled "On Establishing People's Communes in Rural Areas," which was distributed at the meeting and highly praised by him. During the meeting, Mao Zedong expressed his views on the People's Commune, some of which directly formed the framework for the transformation of the grassroots political system. First, the characteristics of the People's Commune are "big" and "public." Mao said this was a "big commune," which could have thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of households. The other meaning of "big" is comprehensive operation and unified management, including agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, side industries, and fishery, as well as industry, agriculture, commerce, education, and the military, and it is only when it is big that it is easier to make plans. The "public" refers to being more socialist than cooperatives, with existing private land being remnants of capitalism and to be made public in the future. Life management and services are also made public, such as kindergartens, canteens, and nursing homes. The system stipulated by "big" and "public" is "the integration of the political and the collective," with the direction being the decline of the state. Second, military-style organization, battle-style actions, and collective life are manifestations of the improvement of farmers' organizational level. Mao Zedong believed that this would increase farmers' enthusiasm and output. In fact, before the Beidaihe meeting, Mao Zedong had seriously considered what to do with the surplus grain and believed that people could work half a day and study culture and science the other half. This view was severely divorced from reality. Third, the implementation of a supply system combined with a wage system, gradually transitioning from distribution according to labor to distribution according to need. In this regard, some people believed that distribution according to labor was still bourgeois rights (then called "legal rights"), and that the public canteen, where meals were free, was communism. Although the statement was simplified, the rapid transition to utopian communism had become a realistic goal for the state's existence. According to the "Villagers' Committee Organization Law," the villagers' committee has two basic organizational structures: the villagers' meeting and the villagers' committee. In addition to these two basic structures, the 1998 "Villagers' Committee Organization Law of the People's Republic of China" recognized the villagers' representative meeting created in practice across the country's villagers' committees and made specific provisions for it, stating, "In villages with a large population or scattered settlements, villagers can be elected as representatives, and the villagers' committee can convene meetings of the villagers' representatives." Additionally, village-based production teams were established universally. Thus, the villagers' autonomous organization is essentially a four-tier structure. The changes in the villagers' committee organizational structure reflect the growing autonomy of grassroots organizations in rural society and also reflect their self-improvement capabilities. ① Villagers' Meeting. The villagers' meeting is the decision-making body of villagers' autonomy. The villagers' meeting is attended by all adult villagers and discusses and decides public matters concerning the interests of all villagers. Since villagers' autonomy is a form of direct democracy, the villagers' meeting is the highest decision-making body of villagers' autonomy, and it examines the work report of the villagers' committee and has the power to remove members of the villagers' committee. The main powers of the villagers' meeting are: , the power of creation, which means discussing, reviewing, amending, and passing the basic charters and rules of villagers' autonomous activities in the village in line with the spirit of relevant national laws. Second, the power of election, which means electing the villagers' committee and removing or replacing its members. Third, the power of decision-making, including reviewing and passing the village's economic and social development plan, annual work plan, and making corresponding resolutions; discussing and deciding major issues concerning the interests of all villagers. Fourth, the power of supervision, including reviewing village finances and supervising the work of autonomous organizations and personnel. Fifth, the power of veto, which means vetoing and amending inappropriate resolutions and decisions of the villagers' committee. Rural areas across the country have specified the powers of the villagers' meeting through various forms. These forms include: villagers' (villagers' assembly), which is a meeting attended by all adult villagers and is the highest form of the villagers' meeting, exercising the most important powers of the villagers' meeting; household representative meeting, where some public village affairs concerning the common interests of each household are decided by representatives from each household; and partial villagers' meeting, which is attended by a portion of the villagers and mainly discusses and reviews public matters related to some villagers, with the decisions generally only affecting those who attended. ② Villagers' Committee. The villagers' committee is the executive body of villagers' autonomy. The villagers' committee is composed of 3 to 7 members, including a chairperson, deputy chairpersons, and members, and is directly elected by the villagers. The powers of the villagers' committee are divided into two parts: autonomous powers and administrative assistance powers for township and village governments. Specifically: The main powers of the villagers' committee are: , handling the village's public affairs and public welfare, mediating civil disputes, assisting in maintaining social order, and reflecting the opinions, demands, and suggestions of the villagers to the people's government. Second, supporting and organizing villagers to develop various forms of economy in accordance with the law, coordinating production in the village, promoting rural production, and developing the market economy. The villagers' committee should respect the independent economic rights of collective economic organizations under the law, maintain the dual-tiered operation system based on household contract management, and safeguard the legitimate property rights of collective economic organizations, villagers, contract management households, joint households, or partners. In accordance with the law, the villagers' committee manages land and other property belonging to the village's collective of farmers under the law, educates villagers to rationally utilize natural resources, and protect and improve the ecological environment. Third, promoting the constitution, laws, regulations, and national policies, educating and urging villagers to fulfill legal obligations, protect public property, and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of villagers, develop cultural education, popularize scientific and technological knowledge, promote unity and mutual assistance between villages, and carry out various forms of socialist spiritual civilization construction activities. In villages with multiple ethnic groups, the villagers' committee should educate and guide villagers to strengthen ethnic unity, respect each other, and help each other. ③ Villagers' Representative Meeting. The villagers' representative meeting, also known as the villagers' deliberative meeting, is different from the villagers' meeting in that it is composed of a certain number of representatives elected by the villagers. Its powers are to discuss and decide matters authorized by the villagers' meeting and to exercise autonomous power on behalf of the villagers. ④ Village Production Team. The village production team is the work unit of villagers' autonomy. The village production team has a team leader, who is elected by the village production team meeting. As the lowest-level institution of villagers' autonomy, the village production team plays a very important role, because the contract and change of responsibility land, production mutual assistance, and water conservancy irrigation, which are directly related to the interests of the villagers, are often carried out at the level of the village production team. Its main powers are: implementing tasks assigned by the township and village; reflecting the opinions, demands, and suggestions of villagers in the team to the villagers' committee; and handling internal matters of the team, such as contract land and water conservancy construction. 3. New Wage Laborers. New wage laborers are a new social group that has emerged with the rapid rise of township enterprises. They are farmers who have moved out of the countryside into cities to engage in non-agricultural occupations, transitioning from traditional agriculture to non-agricultural production, with wages as their primary source of livelihood. They represent a new industrial force, an important part of the working class in China, and one of the key structural elements of rural society. New wage laborers consist of three parts: employees of shareholding cooperative enterprises, employees of private enterprises, and employees engaged in commerce. New wage laborers are connected to large-scale socialized production, and their production methods, distribution relationships, and social role awareness all share the general characteristics of the working class. New wage laborers are laborers who primarily obtain monetary income through economic exchange and possess the subject qualifications of modern labor relations. That is, they have the typical characteristics of general wage laborers, namely, selling their labor power to obtain necessary wages. Their fundamental characteristic is that laborers, as equal legal subjects, have been liberated from personal dependence and have gained independent personalities. Rural economic system reform has given farmers broad autonomy, enabling rural surplus labor to gain ownership of labor power, realizing the return of labor power ownership to laborers, and allowing farmers to have the right to establish labor contracts with enterprises based on the principle of comparative advantage in the labor market. New wage laborers are new social roles, the commodity production subjects of township enterprises, and are strongly market-oriented. Their employment, wages, benefits, and other labor rights are determined and reflected through the market. Compared to general wage laborers, these new wage laborers with a peasant identity have some distinctive characteristics: First, they flexibly choose employment positions to obtain necessary economic income and work as temporary workers or short-term contract workers. This situation is particularly prominent in the construction industry, where many construction subcontracting teams are temporarily recruited from the countryside by subcontractors, and once the project is completed, the labor relationship of the subcontracting team automatically terminates, and they then seek new jobs. Second, they do not rely solely on wages as their sole source of income. In addition to wage income, they also have agricultural income from their contracted responsibility land in the countryside. Due to differences in regional economic development levels, land contracting quantities, and individual qualities, the income structure of new wage laborers varies. Some supplement their non-agricultural income (including wage income); others rely primarily on wage income, with agricultural income as a supplement. In economically developed areas, new wage laborers regard wages as their primary source of income and adopt forms such as subcontracting the contracted rural responsibility land to others for cultivation. With the development of the social economy and the acceleration of agricultural industrialization, this trend will continue to expand. Third, their social identity remains that of a peasant. The identity of new wage laborers has a typical dual characteristic: their occupation is that of a worker, but their social or household registration identity remains that of a peasant, holding an agricultural household registration. Fourth, they are a new social group that has emerged from the disintegration of farmers, mainly driven by comparative advantage and without the violent exploitation of labor by capital. Their separation from the land is relatively smooth, without significant psychological shocks or social psychological gaps. This makes them have a unique kinship relationship with the rural community culture, with a strong "land complex," which strictly limits their organization. They have a systematic connection with the land, which is their ultimate home and psychological support, and they are not in the precarious state of unemployment on the edge, as with workers in state-owned enterprises, nor do they have a sense of urgency. Fifth, new wage laborers come from rural areas. It is impossible for them to change their kinship relationship with rural culture in the short term due to choosing non-agricultural industries, nor can they establish a kinship relationship with industrial culture in the short term. They retain traditional rural blood ties and family concepts. The social status and awareness of rights and relationships of the working class are currently in a preliminary stage of social psychology and have not yet reached a level of conscious awareness of their historical status.