In front of the office building of the Xiashe Village Committee in Yuetang District, Xiangtan City, villagers held a report signed by more than 500 people, hoping that the higher authorities would revoke the decision of the township party committee to suspend the position of Zhou Weihong as the village director. Photo by reporter Liu Xiaobo.
â– Reporter Liu Xiaobo
Because he refused to sign the "Land Expropriation Agreement" and "failed to maintain high consistency with the superiors," Zhou Weihong, the director of Xiashe Village in Xiacheng Township, Yuetang District, Xiangtan City, was recently suspended by the township party committee. More than 500 out of more than 900 voters in the whole village jointly submitted a letter to express their dissatisfaction.
In the eyes of most villagers, Zhou Weihong is a conscientious and responsible "good director." Is it appropriate for the township party committee to directly issue a red-headed document to suspend him? How should village self-governance be promoted? This has triggered heated discussions locally and online.
Two village officials were dismissed or suspended for refusing to sign the land expropriation agreement.
On December 22, in Xiashe Village, Xiacheng Township, Yuetang District, Xiangtan City, 38-year-old Zhou Weihong paced outside the village committee building. In the first half of 2008, he was elected as the director of the village committee with a high number of votes and had served for two and a half years. However, 20 days ago, he was suspended by the Xiacheng Township Party Committee through a "red-headed document."
Xiashe Village is a suburban village with only 0.09 mu of arable land per capita. Since August this year, a commercial housing development project - the "Yanda Energy-Saving and Environmental Protection Residential Project" - has prepared to expropriate 79.7 mu of land in the village, including dry land, vegetable fields, fish ponds, and roads, with compensation amounting to 8.84 million yuan. The villagers generally considered this standard to be too low, and the branch village committee has consistently been unwilling to sign the "Land Expropriation Agreement."
On the evening of November 30, which was the last day of the originally scheduled demolition period, Zhou Weihong and Yang Ziran, the female village party secretary, along with five other members of the branch village committee, were called to the township government and asked to sign the "Land Expropriation Agreement." The agreement had already been drafted, but until 3 a.m. on December 1, the agreement still could not be signed. On December 2, the Xiacheng Township Party Committee suspended Zhou Weihong's position as village director and simultaneously removed Yang Ziran as the village party secretary. A few days later, the township forcibly replaced the financial seal of the village.
More than 500 voters jointly petitioned for reinstatement without success.
In the eyes of most villagers, Zhou Weihong is a "good director" who has been fully committed to the village's affairs since taking office and is very popular among everyone.
The villagers expressed difficulty in accepting Zhou Weihong's suspension. Zhou Anliang, over 50 years old, said, "He was publicly elected by us. Even if he needs to be suspended or dismissed, it must be done according to the 'Villagers' Committee Organization Law' through the villagers' representative assembly. The township party committee should not make such a direct decision." Many villagers believe that this is an act of disrespect for public opinion by the township party committee, interfering with villagers' autonomy and grassroots governance.
For this reason, more than 500 out of the 900-plus voters in Xiashe Village jointly petitioned, signing a seven-page-long document. They also posted online, hoping that the township party committee would correct its erroneous actions and quickly restore the positions of Zhou Weihong and Yang Ziran. After no results, on the morning of December 21, some villagers angrily locked the glass door of the village committee office building tightly with a big lock.
Township Propaganda Commissioner: "Dismissal/Suspension" Procedure Had No Issues
Deng Jie, the propaganda commissioner of Xiacheng Township, explained that the dismissal and suspension of Yang and Zhou were decided after an expanded meeting of the township party committee, after repeated deliberations and careful consideration, consulting with higher-level organizations and civil affairs departments, and convening a meeting of the branch village committee and party representatives of Xiashe Village to announce this decision. There should be no issues with the procedure.
Why was the good village official in the eyes of the villagers dismissed by the township party committee? Previously, the Xiacheng Township Party Committee replied online that the reasons for dismissing and suspending Yang and Zhou were: one, they lacked organizational capability in their work and had weak execution ability, failing to maintain high consistency with the superior party committee and government in specific project expropriation and demolition work; two, there was disharmony within the leadership team during their term, and the satisfaction rate among the masses was low.
Department Response
Xiangtan Civil Affairs Bureau: Suspension Document Invalid
On the afternoon of December 22, carrying the document from the Xiacheng Township Party Committee "suspending the position of Zhou Weihong as village director," the reporter went to the Xiangtan Civil Affairs Bureau. Director Zhang Jianping of the Grassroots Regime Section looked at it and declared it "invalid."
Zhang Jianping stated that according to the "Villagers' Committee Organization Law," the Village Committee is not a grassroots state power organization and is not a level of government. The Village Committee Director is directly elected by the villagers, not appointed by the government. No organization or individual may designate, appoint, or replace members of the Village Committee.
Zhang Jianping explained that if the village director is indeed incompetent and needs to be impeached, it must follow the corresponding procedures. "Suspending the village director, the township party committee does not have this authority." Zhang Jianping suggested that Zhou Weihong or other villagers with objections could first report to the Yuetang District People's Congress and the District Civil Affairs Bureau.