Township Governance Reforms In The Post-agriculture Taxation Reform Era

Since the mid-1990s, the peasant problem in China has increased its salience in local governance due to the growing taxation and fee burden over the peasants. In response to this, the Chinese central government initiated a set of taxation and fee system reforms in 2000. With a special focus on agriculture taxation reform, the government envisions to rationalize resources distribution between state, collective sector and individuals.This present study examines the township-level governance in such post-taxation reform context through a case study from S city of Jiangxi province. It attempts to compare the resource extraction pattern before and after the taxation for fee reform, and demonstrates the reform's impacts on township-level governance. By categorizing types of township governance, this thesis points to the mechanisms of functional and organizational changes of township government. This basically includes streamlining the local government machine based on its functional transition, redefining the power structure and responsibility of township government, and strengthening grassroots democracy.