A Study On The Evolution Of Democratic Election Mechanism In Rural China

In 1980s, the first village community council (VCC) came into being in thecountryside of China. In the past 20 years, the procedure by which the VCC is electedhas drawn a great deal of attention. In this essay, through field survey, data collectionand case analysis, the author summarized nowadays common practices of VCC election,analyzed the prominent problems in the election and presented her own opinions andsolutions. Based on these, the author predicted the development tendency of VCCelection and wishes to provide some basic understanding of the Chinese rural society aswell as the VCC in China.Section one described the present situation and influence of the VCC. In 1980s,the farmers in GuangXi Province spontaneously elected their own first VCC and signedthe contract. The author concluded that this VCC election is a good manifestation ofhow the nongovernmental democracy appeals in the countryside coincide with the statepolitical ideals. In the past 20 years, VCC election had undergone 3 important stages ofdevelopment. After comparing the 3 stages, the author summarized that governmentsupporting system and the increase in democratic consciousness of the villagers are thefoundamental force behind the democratization process. More than that, these 2 forcesmutual-interact and mutual-facilitate each other. The last part of the Section elaboratedthe influence that VCC election has brought to the rural society.Section two listed five major problems of the election: interference from localgovernment, bribery, family influence, conflicts between the two committees and civilrights consciousness. Through case studies and thorough analysis, the author thoughtVCC election has provided a true democratic experience for the farmers, through whichChinese farmers gradually accepted democracy and legality as mainstream politicalculture. The advocated practice of protecting individual's rights in the context of thestate law will not only be gradually accepted as a popular political and cultural concept,but can also expand its profound influence from the countryside to the whole society.Section three predicted the future of the VCC election. Starting with what peoplethought about the relationship between democracy in the countryside and the authorityof government, the author expressed her view that there should be a dynamic balancebetween the government power and the civil democratic forces in the present situation,only with the support from the government, may the democracy in countryside be ableto improve. Finally after careful studies of the various political and economical forces inthe countryside, the author predicted that under the protection of the legal system, andwith the increase of people's knowledge, skills and civil rights consciousness ,the VCCelection will soon be extended to the township level. The democracy level in China willbe upgraded from the bottom to top, and the practice to realize democracy in Chinesesociety will be expedited.