Thanks to the decade-long practice of village self-governance, villagers across China's rural areas are able to select their own magistrates and dismiss unqualified officials who fail to do their duty.

That was the conclusion drawn from an official probe of the system.

Supervisors from the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) published their investigation of the system for the first time in Beijing Thursday.

The probe began in June of this year. NPC-authorized investigators conducted a check on the self-governing system in nine areas including Shandong, Fujian, Hainan, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Henan and Yunnan provinces.

Also included were Guangxi Zhuang and Xinjiang Uygur autonomous regions.

The investigation found that the concept of self-governing has been hailed by residents in rural areas, said Gu Jinchi, vice-chairman of NPC Internal and Judicial Committee.

Out of the 48 villages investigated in the nine areas, no less than 90 percent of people participated in elections for village leaders.

A conference discussing the findings heard that villages in 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions have adopted this democratic election system.

China introduced the self-governing system in 1988 among villages across the nation. Under the system, local administrative officials are elected by residents.

Previously, village officials were appointed by county-level governments.

(China Daily 08/24/2001)