One of them was that the collective funds of Xushan village soared from 168 yuan (US$20) to about 10,000 yuan (US$1,200). In addition, a road linking the village with a leading marketplace in a nearby town, formerly overgrown with weeds, was built with 50,000 yuan (US$6,000) raised by local residents. More than 70 local farmers have picked up jobs with a monthly income of some 1,000 yuan (US$120).

Villagers are convinced that all these joyous changes have something to do with Bai Qiongxiao, the 45-year-old secretary of the village branch of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Bai, a building firm boss, joined the CPC back in 1986, and was elected Party secretary by 15 votes, two thirds of the total membership in the village. Party members have very high praise for him such as "astute, daring, devoted to public good and a man of principle".

"It was impossible for a building company boss to be elected as the village's Party secretary in the past," he said.

In Caoba village, which is within the reach of Xushan, Fan Yazhong, a hardworking college graduate who is capable of leading his fellow villages to embark on the track of affluence, has also been elected secretary of the Party branch.

"He is the very man to help us get well off," said Huang Yongfang, the bright village chief with discerning eyes. "I very much wanted to elect him in the previous election. Unfortunately, to my disappointment, he was not on the list of candidates then. The direct election within the Party made it possible to choose a person generally recognized by all people." Direct elections had been launched in 11 villages in Ya'an city by November last year, a dramatic change from the previous practice of appointing leading officials in the CPC village branches by the Party organization at the next higher level.

The extension of in-Party democracy has proved a useful and pressing measure to enforce and improve the performance of grassroots Party units.

Li Ziming, deputy secretary of the CPC Ya'an City Committee, said the process for electing the village Party secretary was up-to-standard, covering mobilization, application, qualification assessment, delivering campaign speeches, voting and other essential procedures.

The introduction of the multi-candidate direct election of village heads and self-government by villagers had done away with the conventional authority of village heads that had been imposed ever since the founding of new China in 1949, delegating their powers down to villagers.

However, the pattern under which Party officials are appointed at rural Party units remained unchanged. It often leads to differences and contradictions between grassroots village committees and Party committees in the same village.

The in-Party election has helped to resolve differences and even contradictions. Undoubtedly, the village heads and Party secretaries shared the same goal, Li said.

The efforts to further extend in-Party democracy have been placed high on the agenda of the CPC. Jiang Zemin, former general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, said at the 16th CPC national congress that it was necessary to guarantee the democratic rights of Party members, improve the rules of procedure and decision-making mechanisms within Party committees, reform and improve the in-Party electoral system, and establish and improve in-Party information sharing and reporting systems, and the system of soliciting opinions concerning major policy decisions. The regulation on selecting and appointing leading Party and government officials, recently approved by the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, gave full details of the rights of Party officials.

Enforcement of democracy at grassroots CPC branches has been a major reform in many parts of China's rural areas since the widespread direct election of village heads was initiated about a decade ago.

Party officials who took up their posts through democratic elections usually attach great importance to democratic decision-making.

Bai Qiongxiao, the building firm boss-turned village head, said, "The Party branch urges the village committee to solicit the opinions of fellow villagers on major matters and make village affairs and finances known to the public."

Some day-to-day decisions in the villages to the concern of villages, such as those to build roads and water control projects, reclaim flood land and rent out wasteland were made after seeking the approval of Party members and villagers, he added.

There is a supervising team composed of six villagers in Bai's village. They are invited to attend the grassroots Party branch meeting held once a quarter to hear reviews of Party officials and village heads.

Experts of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee said that only by guaranteeing Party members' rights to be informed, and to participate, choose and supervise in a concrete, practical and down-to-earth manner, could their enthusiasm be fully aroused.

(People's Daily December 12, 2002)