books - The revolution is still a dinner party for some

Goran Leijonhufvud gives a bit more than a review of the English translation of the famous "Life of the Chinese peasants"by Chen Guidi and Wu Chuntao in Danwei. The books described back in 2003, was banned, became an unprecedented bestseller and might have helped to change the situation at the country side.
Of course, just like all banned books, it is widely available in China.
Leijonhufvud is now perparing a PhD on the village elections in Yunnan and notes some "contradictions" in the measures the government has taken since. The succesful abolishment of the agricultural tax certainly took away the cause for much hardship and many conflicts between peasants and the local governments. Although they have been replaced by sometimes violent argument over illegal confiscation of land or the lack of compensation.
But the abolishment of the tax has also left the local government without enough revenue to perform their public duties.

I recently interviewed peasants and village and township leaders in Yunnan for a research project. The tax reform is obviously welcomed by the farmers. But it has left township and village governments with very insufficent funds for public projects such as better roads or improved irrigation. With villager committees loosing their last few remaining tees, the farmers interest in the village elections reach a new low point.
Village cadres complain that the office fund of a few thousand yuan per year, which they receive from the county government, does not even cover the cost of electricity, telephones, stationery and sundries.

Buy the book here:
Will the Boat Sink the Water?: The Life of China's Peasants