Pacific Affairs: An International Review of Asia and the Pacific

Volume 76, No. 2

 

Innovation in China's Local Governance: 'Open Recommendation and Selection'
By Tony Saich and Xuedong Yang

 

Abstract

Development theory suggests that political innovation tends to occur as levels of well-being rise and markets expand. It is interesting to note, in this context, that a number of significant political reforms in rural China have begun in poorer rural areas. This has been the case with the return to household farming, village elections and now township elections. Crisis and distance from political centres, combined with astute political leadership, can stimulate significant institutional reforms that may affect nationwide policy. While elections for village leadership in China are generally accepted as legitimate, elections for township heads are more deeply contested and with the township forming the lowest level of state administration, it is nested in a more complex set of institutional relations. Direct election of township heads (as in Buyun, Sichuan) province has been declared unconstitutional but this has not stopped experimentation with alternative methods to evaluate township officials. One such promising experimentation is the "open recommendation and selection" process that has been carried out in Suining Municipality, Sichuan Province. This process broadens the scope of participation in the selection of local leaders but it retains the Leninist concern for control of the process and, most importantly, it does not contravene the constitution. This article suggests that without clear guidance from the centre, the only solutions available for localities to resolve the dilemmas they face are to experiment with procedures that operate within existing guidelines and to exploit the grey areas to enhance local representation and institutional adjustment.