China's central authorities have called for nationwide efforts
to further promote the coordinated development of socialist
material civilization, political civilization and cultural and
ethic progress in the countryside.
In a joint document, the General Offices of the Central
Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and of the State
Council called on the nation to understand fully the significance
of further promoting openness and improving the democratic
management of village affairs.
This has a bearing on safeguarding the fundamental interests of
farmers, developing socialist democracy, promoting rural reform,
and improving the work style of CPC organizations in the
countryside, according to the document dated June 22 this year.
The document points out that although encouraging progress has
been made in promoting openness and democratic management of
village affairs over the last few years, problems still exist in
some places. These have hindered rural economic and
development.
Village authorities are required to maintain the policy of
telling villagers how the family planning policy is carried out,
how relief funds and goods are distributed, how the land designated
for residential housing is used, how the returns from the income of
village collective economy are used and how much villager cadres
are paid for their work.
At present, opening village financial affairs should remain the
emphasis, while compensation for land requisition, contracting of
cropland, villages' collective debt, policies on tax reform and the
exemption and reduction of agricultural taxes, new rural collective
medicare, and government subsidies for grain production and others
should also be opened.
These matters can be made public through the village billboards
or by other means such as radio and TV programs, the Internet and
public hearings. General village affairs should be made public at
least once every three months, and major issues that concern the
farmers' benefits or other matters should be made public
timely.
At the same time, a special group composed of publicly selected
persons should be formed in the village to supervise the openness
of village affairs, and the village committee is required to hear
villagers' complaints sincerely and reply within 10 days.
The document also urges efforts to regularize the village
democratic decision-making mechanism, punish village cadres who go
against resolutions of the village congress, improve the democratic
management system to ensure the farmers' right to participation,
and strengthen supervision over the management of village affairs
to ensure villagers' supervisory rights.
The document calls on CPC committees and governments at all
levels to strengthen leadership in promoting the openness and
management of village affairs, taking it as a major job with
well-forged mechanisms and clear-cut responsibilities, and giving
full play to the key role of the grass-roots CPC organizations.
(Xinhua News Agency July 12, 2004)