Consultative Democracy in a Rural Village

By staff reporter ZHOU LIN

TWO imposing structures stand in the Yonglian Village square. One is a sculpture of a huge golden hand， celebrating the entrepreneurship of this village of Zhangjiagang City in Jiangsu Province. The other is the village assembly hall which went into operation in early 2013. The traditional Chinese exterior of white walls and black tiles belies the cutting edge design of its interior， which features 285 seats encircling a podium.

“Building a village assembly hall in this design makes democracy both visible and accessible. It is site of discussions on such topics as whether a family should be assigned one or two apartments， and who is responsible for compensating damaged public property. Minor issues concerning local peoples interest are also discussed in the hall to enable villagers to make equitable judgments，” village Party secretary Wu Dongcai said.

Pluralistic Governance Mode

The first， day-long meeting of Yonglian village economic cooperative deputies took place on March 31， 2014. After the due process of preparation， consultation， discussion， and debate， the 239 deputies elected their first board of directors and board of supervisors. They cast votes once more to adopt the Yonglian Economic Cooperative Regulations.

“Foreigners should be invited to witness how grassroots democracy works in rural China，” said Sun Minbiao， director of the Rural Work Office of the CPC Zhangjiagang Municipal Committee， in his capacity as observer of the village governance initiatives.

The significance of this congress lay in its endorsement of the village economic cooperatives function of authoritative economic management. It confirmed the 10，676 cooperative members possession of 533.3 hectares of farmland， more than 400 shops， and a 25-percent share in the Yonggang Group. The village economic cooperative is also responsible for the proper management of the collectivelyowned farmland， assets and capital， for preserving and increasing their value， and steadily achieving the collective economys goal of sustainable affluence.

As a matter of fact， since the Yonghe Neighborhood Committee was elected in 2013， part of the village committees social management functions have already been transferred to the Yonghe Community. The governance structure of Yonglian Village has thus transformed from one where the village committee takes the leading role to a pluralistic governance mode. There are now three governance bodies： the Yonggang Group， Yonghe Community， and the Yonglian Economic Cooperative， jointly in charge of this village. The Yonggang Group adopts a modern enterprise management system and takes full responsibility for its profits and losses. Yonghe Community is affiliated to Nanfeng Town and exercises self-governance. The village economic cooperative comprises an association， by virtue of existing farmlands， assets and capital， run in accordance with economic cooperative rules. A harmonious landscape of communion and self-governance has thus formed.

More and more grassroots democracy practices are expected to unfold in the village assembly hall.

Round Table Conference

Activities in the assembly hall deal with important matters like future governance structure， as well as localized issues such as housing disputes.

All seats were occupied at 2 pm on October 18， 2013 at the round table conference room of the Yonglian Village assembly hall. In contrast with conventional meetings， where village cadres sit on a platform above the main body of villagers， on this occasion the 50 participants sat at a round table.

The meeting was held to decide on whether former villager Zhou Lanfen should receive compensation for the demolition of the house she once occupied in Yongnan Village. Those present included Zhou， a farmer of Yongnan Village， the village committee entrusted agent， representatives from the former Yongnan Village， veteran Party members， volunteers， and community management staff.

“As some villagers find it difficult to discuss the matter in Mandarin， we will speak in our local dialect. All present are urged to express their opinions，” president of the village economic cooperative Song Xingxiang， who chaired the meeting， said. All representatives agreed to this proposal.

“I used to live in Yongnan Village. Later the two villages merged. My two houses were demolished， but I received no compensation. I hope the village com- mittee can come up with a reasonable solution to this matter，” Zhou Lanfen said.

“I have here several certificated documents which prove that Zhou moved her registered permanent residence out of Yongnan Village upon remarrying after the death of her husband. Further evidence shows that her houses were pulled down before the two villages merged. Therefore she is not entitled to compensation，” Li Yongcheng， charged with civil mediations on behalf of the village committee， stated. Meanwhile， the scanned copies of these documents were projected on to a screen for each participant to scrutinize.

“According to the Land Management Law， a homestead is not personal property. The householder is only entitled to a usufruct of it， its ownership being in the hands of the village collective. This means that a villager who moves away from their registered permanent residence immediately forfeits any rights of inheritance to their former homestead，”Li said. Having heard and understood this explanation， representatives gradually reached a consensus.

“Proof and regulations help us to discuss cases and make a rational decision. From a law perspective， Zhou has no right to demolition compensation. Any judgment that breaks this rule could prejudice the justice and equity of our village，” Song concluded in his ending statement based on the meetings discussion， so ending the two-hour round table conference.

“This was Yonglians fourth village council. On each occasion the villager concerned appealed to the village committee which， after investigation， debated on whether or not to hold a village council，” Song said. He added that villagers participation has helped them to understand and hence support enforcement of village regulations.

Matters Great and Small

Construction of Yonglian Village assembly hall is the brainchild of Wu Dongcais reflections on village governance.

In August 2010， after a tour of Germany， Wu decided to build a village as- sembly hall. “Before that， at village conferences with over 10，000 participants， village heads sat in the podium at the front， while villagers sat in the audience. Sitting at a round table makes villagers feel more at ease when expressing their ideas， and so helps improve self governance and democratic practice in our village，” Wu said.

Construction of the assembly hall entailed a RMB 40 million investment. There are 16 seats on the podium in the newly-completed building and 285 seats in the main body of the hall. Non-participants can follow representatives meetings through a double glazed glass panel and an audio system on the second floor. Discussions are also simultaneously broadcast through LED screens on the building exterior.

The design of the hall takes conventions into consideration. It includes a centrally placed speakers microphone， and sufficient space between seats to enable villagers to speak. The black circular camera at the center of the podium can distinguish where a speaker is sitting and project their image on to a big screen. The hall ceiling has a sky light that alludes to the Chinese saying “open the window and talk turkey.”

Yonglian Village now has 10，400 residents and 250 representatives. The village committee has stipulated that all important matters and programs must be discussed by Party members and villager deputies before their implementa- tion. Other issues relating to villagersinterests， whether to do with economy， politics or culture， must be put to the vote. There must also be public elections for village leadership. A deliberative committee responsible exclusively for settling disputes is made up of 35 members selected from among the villages 250 villagers representatives.

“Debates on various problems help make judgments reasonable and practicable， so fully guaranteeing villagersdemocratic rights and reinforcing their self-governance，” deputy Party secretary of Yonglian Village Wu Huifang said. The round table conference arrangement comprising three represented parties –the villager concerned， Yonglian village committee trustee， and discussion panel– ensure an equitable and justified result. The villager concerned appeals to have his or her problem heard， and the trustee chairs the discussion. The discussion panel first reads through the admissible evidence and proof and raises suggestions geared to finding the most acceptable solution and to protecting villagers legitimate rights and interests.

People of different social status sit together. It is this feature that spurs villagers interest in the assembly hall initiative and public governance， most specifically in participating in it.

Director of the Nanfeng Town petition office Shi Huiqin has discovered in the course of attending several meetings that， “The more discussions villagers participate in， the better they understand how to settle disputes. They even take the initiative to study legal regulations in preparation for discussions， which is very helpful in governmental policy-making.”

Visible， Accessible Grassroots Democracy

Village councils and meetings held in the assembly hall guarantee villagers rights to know how they are being governed and also their right to democratic deliberation， thus making selfgovernance and grassroots democracy both visible and accessible.

“We are all members of the village， so we must manage it in ways that meet the needs of the majority and give full play to villagers wisdom，” Wu Dongcai said. He thus expressed his in-depth understanding of modernized village governance. No longer dependent on one or two capable brains or monopolized by the village committee， it is a self-governance of villagers that relies on social strengths.

In recent years， Yonglian Village has pushed forward reforms and formulated regulations that include procedural rules for the Party committee， village committee， and economic cooperative. It thus pursues a democratic decision-making system based on collective research and votes. Two sessions of the village congress are convened annually to decide on major issues like allocation of village collective economic income， cooperative members identity certification， and demolition settlements. Since 2005， more than 20 rules and regulations have been voted on and adopted. To reinforce democratic supervision， the village committee has also established the public finance management group and the democracy supervision group to conduct inspections， and publicize the latest quarterly information on administration and finance affairs through bulletin boards and the village website.

Lectures promoting villagers participation in self-governance and that acquaint them with the rule of law are held regularly. Villagers have gradually acknowledged the importance of law， and transformed from lookers-on to legal adepts. They now come straight to the point when raising issues， focusing on specific problems like how to claim compensation from enclosures and the apportionment of property after divorce.

“Villagers come willingly to our law learning activities，” director of the village committee Liu Xuexiang said. These measures help eliminate ignorance of the law. Higher public awareness of the need to safeguard peoples rights makes them more capable of village self-governance.

Contemporary Yonglian villagers enjoy a colorful， affluent life due to the benefits of economic development. Ideas on public governance have penetrated the public consciousness as part of the modern social life style. They also constitute the solid foundation on which Yonglian Village is steadily achieving new socialist countryside modernization.