The country has launched a national campaign to strengthen democratic management and boost transparency among about 30,000 villages, senior officials said Friday.

The three-year campaign, led by the National Information Openness Team of Village Affairs under the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MOCA), aims to resolve rural disputes and conflicts by safeguarding farmers' rights of knowing and monitoring, said Huang Guanhong, an official in the department of local governance and community construction of MOCA.

The move comes as a result of the circular issued recently by 12 ministries in an effort to "achieve a fundamental change of challenged villages in three years".

He Yong, the deputy secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), who is in charge of the team, warned that reform, development and stability in the countryside would be affected if the challenges in these villages were not addressed in a timely manner.

The number of troubled villages takes up about 6 percent of the total.

It is the largest such campaign since the country started to cope with about 100,000 villages that suffered from loosened management in 1997, according to Huang.

Huang added that after that five-year campaign, the number of troubled villages was reduced to about 30,000 and is expected to reach 10,000 after the present campaign.

The issue has become more urgent in the era of a global economic slowdown and is encouraged by the central government's latest pro-agricultural policies.

He Yong said targeted village organizations are required to improve transparency and informational briefing of village affairs.

"Information opening of village financial affairs should be a focus in strengthening local democratic management system," He said.

The campaign also aims to safeguard farmers' legitimate rights and interests, facilitate social harmony and promote rural economy.

"We should be creative in selecting and training village cadres and improve the direct election system," He said.

"The management team should involve with cadres with excellent capacity and morality and college graduates."

(China Daily February 28, 2009)