Hainan is China's only special-economic-zone province with 17.6 percent of its population being ethnic minorities. It is in the process of implementing the Organic Law of Villagers' Committees, commonly called a law "of the most common concern to Chinese farmers."

"Democratic elections, villagers themselves making decisions about village affairs and making them public have been basically achieved in Hainan, even though the province started its rural grassroots democracy building later than other provinces," said Gu Jinchi, vice-director of the National People's Congress (NPC) Internal and Judicial Committee.

Gu made the remarks recently after a law enforcement group from the Standing Committee of the NPC finished its seven-day law enforcement examination in Hainan, China's southernmost province. Gu is the head of the group.

Another four groups also conducted the inspections in northeast China's Jilin Province, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and east China's Shandong Province and Fujian Province.

"We voted for our new head. This is excellent!" said Wang Yongjing, a 59-year-old villager of Juntun Village in Danzhou, northwestern Hainan. "We knew who could make us richer and we elected him. In the past the head was assigned by higher government," Wang said.

In 1998 the villagers' committee elections were carried out in all 19 of the island's cities and counties, according to Yu Xun, vice-governor of Hainan. "Candidates are nominated directly by villagers themselves strictly in accord with the law," said Yu.

In most counties and cities, more than 95 percent of villagers took part in the voting, reaching 98 percent in Ding'an County, according to Yu.

The elected heads of villages are on average younger and better educated than before. Across Hainan, almost 70 villagers of junior college level were chosen as committee members.

"We have been chosen by our villagers, and we will not deserve their trust if we fail to serve them well," said Cai Qinguang, head of Wenzi Village, eastern Hainan's Qionghai.

The eight inspected villages all set up villagers' conferences as a way to make decisions about important issues.

In Jiamao Village of Baoting County, an autonomous county of Li and Miao minorities, villagers' conferences have been held eight times for discussing items like road building and banana production.

"Villagers all have their say in deciding village affairs, " said Gu.

But there are still problems in some villages, said Wang Jinhua, an official with the Ministry of Civil Affairs, who also took part in the inspection.

The ministry is responsible for supervising rural grassroots democratic construction. "For example, when I looked through the conference record of the villagers' committee of Shuiwei Village, I found that most of the conferences were transmitting orders to villagers, but not discussing affairs with them," he said.

(China Daily 06/28/2001)