The survey was conducted on 3,404 adults of 18 or over and selected using multi-phase random sampling -- a system that selects interviewees according to a non-biased representative selection -- in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Chengdu, Xiamen, Shenyang and Zhengzhou. The results were recorded as being positive for the subjects.

It showed that 80 percent of citizens knew who their mayor was and that 60 percent intend to show support for their mayor in the event of re-election.

High Levels of Support

While the survey showed the statistics that about 80 percent of the respondents knew who their mayor was, and 60 percent would show support if there was a re-election, the facts that stood out among the many comments collected on the subject was that the mayors from the eight cities were honest, respectable, and high profile. This was, according to the survey, particularly so for Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Chengdu and Xiamen.

In some cases the survey showed interesting anomalies. For example, even though some respondents who did not know who their mayor was, or what the mayor had done, said that they would be happy to vote for them again. Research however showed that these views were held by older members of the survey who were more likely to have formed and encrypted automatic Party support mechanisms for representative Party officials and government members. This did of course also reflect a satisfaction with their lives.

According to Dr. Yuan Yue, the survey might not so accurately reflect the fact that China is in a period of transition but that it does show that support rates are comparatively high and that an important reason for this is that the principal cities in China -- including those surveyed -- have all put tremendous effort into the urban reconstruction and renewal schemes and worked very hard to improve people’s living conditions.

Mayoral Deficiencies

However positive though this survey is, it is suggested that there is still a long way to go for good communication between the mayor’s office and the cities’ citizens. The survey showed that as many as 40 percent of respondents did not know anything of the administrative policy or achievements of the mayor’s office while 10 percent of those that did know did not agree with what they knew. Suggesting a need for greater transparency and openness in the management of the cities’ infrastructure, the survey also suggests that the image of those city mayors needs promotion and raising. About 60 percent of the respondents knew of their mayor only from media coverage about activities, meetings and speeches. However, nearly all agreed they knew nothing of the content of that media information.

The remaining 40 percent of those interviewed said they could neither tell the name of their mayor nor have the impression of what he did. Dr. Yuan Yue commented:

“It is necessary for China’s mayors to learn to advertise and study the mind-set of their client so as to speak in a more informal language that will be properly understood and enjoyed.”

While this may be a suggestion, it is argued that it is easier said then done. City mayors around China are used to talking about the implementation of Party policy, but it is possible they often forget to tell the people what they are thinking and how they will manage their city for them. It is also argued that a lack of personality leads to a damaged city image.

Mao Shoulong, dean of the Department of Government Administration in Renmin University of China, holds the view that a low-profile image of a city mayor will necessarily be dwarfed by the power of the impact of the media. He says that in that context, “propaganda is invalid.” He argues, certainly ineffective media coverage causes a misunderstanding between the mayor’s office and the people it represents.

Mao thought that the way to improve national administration is to let more citizens participate in the open discussion of public policy.

Dr. Yuan Yue’s opinion proposes a more successful outcome. He argues that the mayor should act as manager, to some extent, in order to fulfill the wishes of the citizens of the city and reflect their values as well as those of the Party. The real picture however seems to look slightly different with many citizens often complaining that no matter how instructive and wise Party policy is, the outcomes always seems to differ from what was originally planned. It is argued that it is the administrative style of many Party officials that causes the gap between the people and the Party.

Opinion Polls Key Evaluation Source

Although Dr. Yuan Yue makes the claim that the survey was not inspired or sanctioned by government, he has so far received no criticism. As it happens, Horizon-china.com has been receiving commissions from local government offices for the last four or five years in an effort to evaluate local officials and county magistrates. While the democratic examination of local officials has spread to various levels throughout China, Horizon-china.com feels strongly that public opinion polls are key evaluative tools for assessing local government officials.

The problem however is that China has not had a system of public opinion polling. According to Dr. Yuan Yue, NGOs could take advantage of this and establish an effective polling system that would benefit everybody.

Sometimes, however, the survey results made public do not always reveal the complete picture. Horizon-china.com admits that they did indeed survey two more cities but owing to the fact that the survey results were so poor, and that the mayors had such low reputation for their work, Dr. Yuan Yue kept the names of those cities out of public view. He did however let it be known that one mayor had only recently joined the position while the other had been in it for a long time.

“As far as people’s psychological understanding is concerned, we decided to keep the results of those two cities private.”

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) issued the Statute on Selecting and Appointing Party and Government Leading Cadres in July 2002 which asks that the people, en-masse, have the right to know, to participate in, to chose and to supervise.

Wang Tongxun, vice-director of the Personnel Study Institute of the Ministry of Personnel told Chinese News weekly that public opinion polling should be part of the examination process to some extent. He argues that the traditional way for evaluating local officials is top down while now the top and bottom should be combined, and assessment to take place horizontally by professionally skilled companies. While he suggests that it is too much to expect or encourage local cadres to show publicly needed charisma, due to resource and support system limitations, he did feel that there could be a cause for optimism.

“In this case, cadres of various levels can learn to become responsible for their leaders and their people.”

Mao Shoulong took this one step further and suggested that the most effective evaluation was likely to include a multi-factor approach where assessment could take place from many perspectives and could include examination from within the Party and from the outside, supervision taking place simultaneously from below and above. Accordingly, he suggests that public opinion polling be incorporated into government administrative policy.

(china.org.cn by Zheng Guihong, October 6, 2002)