The Research Over The Governance Mode Of Township-oriented Villages

The fact that China has long-term tradition of agrarian civilizationwith millions of population compels us to put more attentions to issues ofboth farmers and countryside, increasingly developed into an inevitableproject. Under the current situation, which China has been making effortsto figure out “three-peasant issue” and the construction of new socialistcountryside has been under way, how to deal with more and morecomplicated society in rural areas and how to explore a new governancemode adapted to what the countryside really demands become a focusconcerned by the whole society. The current governance mode, oftenserved as a kind of tool integrating rural society by the state, althoughborn from farmers’ innovation by autonomy at the beginning, is the resultof the top-town reform, frequently suitable for majority of rural areasbecause of their seemly unchanged situations.Inherent contradiction and interest game stemmed from the institutionarrangement have more and more obviously presented the dilemma andcrisis in governance practice, however, as the whole, the transformation dynamics of the whole institutions still remain uncertain; and suffice it tostress, it is nearly unlikely to succeed in seeking a uniform governancemode in accordance of different situations in wide countryside. Therefore,this paper selects a kind of specific research object defined it as“township-oriented village”, differing not only from traditionalcountryside but from territorially “in-town village”. Thetownship-oriented village is mainly referred to areas in Eastern coast,where they are experiencing the process of urbanization. In such villages,the traditional agriculture is gradually going to the end; the originaleconomic structure is in the process of changes, but still keeping thecollective-owned form of ownership; the social relationship is stillmarked by tradition, but in appearance of pluralized interest bodies.This paper, making attempts to break through the ideological limits ofinterpretative exploration on the traditional governance mode, puts moreemphasizes on, starting from the transformation of social and economicformation in the changing process of township-oriented villages,particularly the change of interest claims, the transition of economicstructure, interest game among various estates, and the appeals to publicadministration in township-oriented villages. Based on case study fromDinghai District, Zhejiang Province, undertaking the newly-ruralconstruction, it finally draws a relatively appropriate conclusion ofinstitution choice, that is, governance mode of township-oriented villagecollaborated by community and village committee.This paper is divided into four sections: the first part focuses upon thedefinition of township-oriented village, describing the structure of itseconomy and society; in the second part, the center is put on theexploration on new demands of governance and the governance crisisunder traditional governance mode; the analysis on the case from Dinghai,where its practice of the construction of newly-rural countryside is under way, is structured into the third section, and drawing the conclusion thatthe effective governance mode in township-oriented villages should beoperated by the collaboration by communities and village committees; thefinal section is developed by the emphasis on three crucial points(regulating the administrative boundary of collective economy, dividingthe functions of communities and township government, and fosteringand strengthening autonomous organizations attached to villagers).Although township-oriented villages are few around China at present,with the development of urbanization, its size will be continuouslyextended, and in fact existing number of them scattering in the Easternareas. In spite of relative form located between traditional village andurban community, the periodical features of urbanization decide it tosubsistent for long time. Thus, this exploration will help handle thedilemmas of governance existing in Southeastern areas, and to beconducive to promoting the whole process of urbanization in China.