While large-scale re-elections of local leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) are proceeding at provincial, municipal, county and township levels nationwide, some new methods have been employed to improve Party democracy in the process.

Most noteworthy is the introduction of a new cadre appraisal system characterized with more democratic features, involving public opinion poll, political achievements analysis, face-to-face talk and comprehensive assessment, before the officials are elected or appointed.

Sources with the Party organization departments said that the 2006-2007 re-elections, a major political event before the convening of the 17th national congress of the CPC, underscore guarantee of ordinary party members' right to know, to participate, to select and to supervise. Meanwhile, grassroots people outside the Party have also been granted a say in the campaign through public opinion polls.

As a new test, the CPC provincial committee of the booming Jiangsu in east China has ordered all the local Party committees at township level to adopt an open candidate selection system in the ongoing re-elections for new Party leaders.

Various means, including questionnaire-based survey, door-step investigation, online research and symposium, are being employed in Zhejiang and Sichuan provinces to invite ordinary people to assess cadres performance, sources said.

Under a cadre achievement hearing system in Donghai County in Jiangsu, eight people were scored low and have been accordingly removed from leading posts.

Founded in 1921, the CPC now has 70.8 million members and 3.52 million grassroots organizations. Its whole regime came into being in the past revolution era and it had for decades followed the Soviet model.

A highly centralized leadership with the worship of former Chairman Mao Zedong had served as a key element bringing China into the chaotic Cultural Revolution between 1966-76, with tens of thousands of people including many loyal Party members being persecuted.

As China has entered a new epoch for creating economic miracle, the Party is faced with various problems such as corruption, low efficiency and bureaucracy, and thus a self-improvement is being urged.

The Fourth Plenary Session of the 16th CPC Central Committee in 2004pointed out that developing democracy within the Party was an important part of political restructuring and building of political civilization in China.

"The CPC would push forward China's political restructuring through reform and improvement of democracy within the Party, " said Li Junru, vice president of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee.

Editor: Yan