The Hindu : China: struggle for basic democracy

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Friday, Nov 22, 2002

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China: struggle for basic democracy

By George Mathew

The basic level democracy with which China is struggling will have far-reaching consequences for its democratic structure. It may go beyond everyone's expectations; even those of the party leadership.

TO BE in China during the historic 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) was exciting. Beijing wore a festive look and Tiananmen Square was glittering. The Chinese capital, which today surpasses the size and modernity of any other city in the world, was like a bride getting ready to welcome the groom — in this case the 2008 Olympics.

The President, Jiang Zemin's opening address at the Congress centred round the notion of what is called the "Three Represents": the development trend of China's advanced productive forces, the orientation of its advanced culture and the fundamental interest of the overwhelming majority of the Chinese. This, according to Mr. Jiang, is necessary to keep pace with the times, help build a well-off society and speed up socialist modernisation with Chinese characteristics. What about democracy? "China will improve democracy in the first two decades of the 21st century. It is a socialist democracy under-girded by a spiritual civilisation to uplift the people's living standards. Improving democracy is a priority along with further developing the economy, advancing science and education, enriching culture and fostering social harmony. All these in order to upgrade the texture of life for the people."

This writer was in China about nine years back — 1992 and 1993 — to study the Village Committee elections in a few provinces. After a gap of nearly a decade what has happened to these institutions and their democratic functioning? It was heartening to see that the National Congress was underlining the need to improve democracy. Of course, democracy only at the Villagers' Committee and Township levels.

The implementation of socialist democracy has made definite strides at the village level. Village Committees are the organs of self-government in China's rural areas where over 70 per cent of the population lives. While our Panchayats are statutory bodies, China's Village Committees are non-governmental and their relation with the lowest tier of government — townships — is tense and has grey areas. Village Committees have been set up in 80 per cent of the villages. More than 600 million rural voters in 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions have taken part in the elections to the Village Committees in the last ten years. The voter turnout averages 80 per cent.

After the demise of the Cultural Revolution, when Deng Xiaoping took the lead for a nationwide reform in the countryside, "the household contract responsibility system" was introduced. Under this, each household got a piece of land for cultivation with permission to retain the surplus. The system had created a group of "commune members" in a poverty-stricken village in Fengyang County of east China's Anhui province. Determined to break away from the people's commune system that had impoverished them, the heads of 18 families in Xiaogang village discreetly put their fingerprints on a written pledge to do what could be taken as a heresy to socialism. The pledge is now kept in the Museum of Chinese History as testimony to the changes under the state policy of reform. Thus, the eclipse of the People's Communes and the production brigade paved the way for village democracy to create Village Committees below the township level.

This new phase saw the disappearance of the village offices set up by the last level of government — township — as per a CPC notification in 1993. By then the central authorities had resolved to improve and enhance the socialist democracy besides going ahead with economic reforms. That is to say the socialist democracy and economic reforms had gone hand-in-hand in the 1990s. Today, Village Committees are chosen through direct multi-candidate elections although 70 per cent of the candidates belong to the CPC.

My visit to Beizhuangtou village, Liqio town, Shunyi County, 50 km. from Beijing, was an eye opener. After the Village Committees came into existence through people's participation and private initiatives the village has developed remarkably. Guan Rong is a farmer who grows vegetables, corn, etc. He has taken land on rent for five years. He makes a profit of one lakh yuan a year after paying rent and meeting other expenses. His wife has a shop in the town selling vegetables and sweets. Their 21-year-old son studies in a boarding school. Mr. Guan, like other 200 others, has a well-built, spacious house.

Mr. Guan took me to the office of the Village Committee, whose three members are in the party. The chairperson is a woman, Mei Gui Fang, a well-disciplined party member for the last 20 years. She got elected in the 2001 Villagers' Committees elections. Ms. Mei was courteous but refused to engage in a discussion about the working of the Village Committee because I had no written permission from the Central Party or the Government. The Committee office, almost like our Panchayat house, exists alongside the party office and the public announcement room. The entire complex had only one picture — that of Mao Zedong, in black and white.

The village has small industries. But what attracted me most was the school, which has 17 students in the age group of 3-6. Incidentally, the village's population is about 600; the one-child norm is strictly adhered to. I thought the Village Committee was managing the school. But it was a private initiative. Liu Yang Rong, who runs it, said she charged an annual fee of 500 yuan (Rs. 2,500) per student. Her husband runs a paint-manufacturing unit near the village. She voted in the last Village Committee elections and in her opinion such committees do a lot of good things but they commit mistakes too. For her and Mr. Guan, corruption is a major issue. Anyone who wants to get land on rent for cultivation has to pay bribes at different levels, which include money as well as wine. Interestingly, the CPC has only about 50 members in the village, 80 per cent of whom are from the older generation and only 20 per cent from the younger generation.

The studies on the Village Committees in the last ten years have shown that there are many things to its credit. One cannot agree more with Robert A. Pastor and Qingshan Tan, when they report about the Committees' accomplishments. Unpopular incumbents have been voted out; officials are frightened by the elections to improve their behaviour; ordinary people who never experienced democracy today participate in election meetings, voting and even run for office. But the village democracy has miles to go.

The Central government is concerned about the abuse, criminal activities and violence in some localities, perpetuated by rich villagers or clans, party cadres, village leaders and entrepreneurs. Corruption was a major concern at the 16th National Congress too.

The absence of a good number of women in the Village Committees is a major concern of many thinking groups in China. These groups as well as senior Government officials I interacted with consider India as a role model for China.

An ideal democratic election must have four steps — an open nominating process; opportunity to share views with the public through campaign; secret voting; ballots and counting must be strictly monitored. Robert E. Gamer and Houishang Shou in a study of local elections have concluded: "Most village elections allow for one or two of these steps. Some allow all four. But in every reported case, the party at some level retains some control over the outcome of the elections."

But one thing stands out. The basic level democracy with which China is struggling will have far-reaching consequences for its democratic structure. It may go beyond everyone's expectations; even those of the party leadership. Both China and India have a lot to learn from each other whether in the field of local democracy, women's participation, economic development or combating corruption.

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