Voluntary Accountability:the Logic And Effect Of Active Publicity Of Village Affairs

The publicity of village affairs is a prescribed action of the state.By posting village information on the bulletin board,the village committee enables villagers to understand village affairs,so as to protect the villagers’ right to know,to participate and to supervise.However,the effect is not satisfactory and there are still many misunderstandings.In 2017,the Party committee and government of Pingyuan County in Shandong Province conducted an in-depth investigation on many local petitions and letters,and found that more than half of the petitions involved village cadres.In order to improve the villagers’satisfaction and maintain social stability,the county Party committee publicized the"three affairs and three capital" sunshine report meeting system in all villages of the county"At the "three affairs and three capital" sunshine report meeting,village cadres took the initiative to open village affairs,party affairs,finance,funds,resources and assets to the masses;People are allowed to question and speak at the meeting to discuss and make decisions on village affairs;And the whole process is supervised by all parties,and the feedback is effective.Accountability is to investigate responsibility.Under accountability politics,government officials tend to avoid responsibility,which leads to a variety of strategies and models to avoid responsibility.The Party committee and government of Pingyuan County in Shandong Province publicize and promote the sunshine report meeting system of "three affairs and three capital".Some of the same systems are passively accepted,while others are creatively implemented.Most village cadres take the initiative in the process of implementing the system,make village affairs more open,and accept public supervision and accountability.This is not simply to avoid responsibility,but to seek accountability.Why do village cadres take the initiative to carry out voluntary accountability?What is the logic behind it?What effects does this bring to local governance?It is the problem consciousness of this paper.The masses are the main body of accountability,the party and government and village cadres are the accountability objects,among which village cadres are the main accountability objects,and they are directly responsible for the publicity of village affairs.This paper uses the information,discussion and consequence theory constructed by bransman and schilmans to discuss the logic mechanism and governance influence of the sunshine report meeting of "three affairs and three resources" around the accountability process.Based on the analysis framework of "transparency of information,interactive discussion,supervision and rectification",through the investigation of the sunshine report meeting of three villages in plain county,the paper finds that the party and government and village cadres voluntarily seek accountability,and the logic behind them is as follows:First,the village affairs publicity has become a regulated action,and accountability atmosphere has been formed in all parts of the country.Therefore,village cadres are willing to comply with the trend,avoid passive accountability,make more open and transparent village affairs information,remove misunderstanding and self certification"innocence",rather than wait for others to be accountable.Secondly,voluntary accountability has great advantages.Village cadres can connect the trunk and mass through the channels,gather public opinion,find problems and correct the deficiencies themselves,thus ensuring the public opinion of village decision-making representatives,promoting the work in the future and improving the grass-roots governance performance.Third,accountability is considered as a positive quality.Village cadres make a necessary voice through responsible action camp.When they are held accountable,they seek the support of the party and the villagers,and always put themselves under the supervision of all parties.Even if mistakes and misunderstandings occur,they can also get the understanding and recognition of the party and the villagers.