DEMOCRACY, CHINESE STYLE

The Organic Law indicated that villagers' committees should be accountable to assemblies comprising all village residents over the age of 18. The later provincial law on villagers' autonomy modifed that arrrangement, allowing for VRAs (village representative assemblies) to monitor the villagers' committees in villages where the population is too large or too scattered to meet en masse on a regular basis. By January 1994, VRAs had spread to 75% of Hebei's 50 252 villages. These village assemblies have become a powerful third political force, introducing into village government an unexpected degree of cadre accountability. This paper details how village government works in Beiwang Cun, in Zhao county's Xifengsi township. It was apparent that the institutional reforms in Beiwang village have enhanced political participation and accountability while also improving attainment of township targets. -from Author