After heated debate, Beijing decided to replace them with village committees, composed of a Chairman and two to six assembly members. This goal was written into the Constitution of 1982, and five years later, the NPC passed a law on village elections that required a secret ballot and other critical procedures that made possible a meaningful election. The Ministry of Civil Affairs now organizes elections in about 1 million villages, where 75 percent of China's people live. Although China is beginning to be seen as a superpower, its rural areas reflect a very poor, developing country that is struggling to emerge from the feudal ages. But in the past five years, economic reforms have permitted a doubling in per capita income.
People have more food.
Many have electricity and some have televisions. They are more independent and entrepreneurial, and the election process reflects this new spirit. Before the villagers vote, the candidates present their backgrounds and programs briefly. The data on recent elections suggest that villagers are quite ready to replace leaders who do not perform. In half of the villages we visited, the incumbents lost the primary or the final election.