Jailings highlight local resistance to political reforms, says scholar

The jailing of the two village chiefs for 'attacking state institutions' highlights the resistance that the central leadership faces in its push for grassroots democracy, a US-based scholar says.

Shi Tianjian, an associate professor of political science at Duke University in North Carolina, said the jailing of Xia Peiliang and Qiu Guojun followed a 'repeated pattern'.

'While the local government illegally imprisoned Xia [and Mr Qiu], the central government later had to get involved to protect people's interests,' he said.

Professor Shi said a central government decree that rural residents be allowed to elect their own leaders was seen as a threat by local township officials, who felt their positions and interests were being undermined.

The central government introduced pilot schemes for direct elections in several villages in the mid-1990s. Since 1998 the elections have gradually spread to all 730,000 villages across the country.

Professor Shi believes some reform-minded central government officials are sincere about introducing democracy.