ABSTRACT
Direct elections of village leaders began in certain provinces in 1988 (World Development, May 1996, p. 924).
The law relating to village committees was passed in November 1987 and rural elections began to be organized from 1988 onwards. In many provinces local laws approved by the provincial People’s Congress stipulate that peasants can jointly nominate candidates or even nominate themselves as candidates for village committees (Wang 1997: 1437).
