By Zhao Shukai　

Date: 2004/11/26

-- A survey of 20 towns in 10 provinces and autonomous regions

Abstract:

The township government is placed in a huge and meticulous assessment system. On the one hand, it has to accept the assessment of the government at a higher level; on the other hand, it has to assess the performance of its own staff and village cadres. This process of assessment, which goes from top to bottom within the government, is divorced from the needs of the rural society and has limited participation of the peasants. The implementation of this type of accountability system leads to the fact that, in many circumstances, the township government works mainly for assessments, and a large amount of government work is irrelevant with the real rural development issues.