Eighteen months after the first 'unofficial' direct election in a mainland town, local cadres and villagers are convinced a directly elected chief is more accountable than an appointed one. The bold experiment was carried out by reform-minded party cadres in Sichuan's Buyun township. About 6,200 people in the 11 villages that make up the township voted in December 1998 for their own leader. The mainland's 870 million rural dwellers have been voting for village leaders for a decade, but it was the first time such a poll had been held in any of the country's 45,000 towns. Central authorities are cautious about extending elections to townships because they fear losing control, with resulting instability. The winner of the Buyun election, Tan Xiaoqiu, had promised farmers in the remote town of 16,000 people with an average annual income of 500 yuan (HK$470) that he would cut taxes and improve the economy. Mr Tan, also the town's party vice-secretary, vowed not to waste public money on drinking and dining when he was sworn into office in January last year. Halfway through his three-year term, surveys showed most thought Mr Tan had lived up to his word. 'Mr Tan has pushed ahead some long-awaited construction projects. A road connecting to Shizhong county is under construction and now villagers in the township can receive television broadcasts since microwave broadcast facilities were installed,' said one farmer, who shares the surname, Cai, with most villagers in the township. 'Telephone lines are now connected and local households can install telephones if they can afford it.' The township's government office had only one phone line before the election. During the rainy season, the red-dirt roads are always flooded and villagers are virtually cut off. Though villagers will soon be able to use the new all-weather cement road connecting them to the outside world, a few complained about the project's cost. 'Households have had to contribute dozens of yuan for the road project,' another farmer said, adding that each household had to contribute a further 200 yuan for the broadcast facilities. 'We chose him because of his connections to get subsidies for the township and his promise to raise income, but it seems that he has not done enough,' another peasant complained, arguing that peasants should be exempt from the charges. Mr Tan said he had no choice but to make residents contribute to the projects as Sichuan authorities provided only half the cost. Farmers said household incomes did increase last year, but that was mostly the result of a bumper harvest rather than the achievements of the new administration. But they said the Government had gradually improved farmers' welfare and consulted the public before raising charges. 'Buyun suffered from drought this year and the summer harvest has been affected. We hope Mr Tan will continue to seek ways to improve the rural economy,' a farmer said, adding that corrupt practices, such as using public money for entertaining, had been curbed. The impoverished economy has forced about 4,000 residents to find jobs outside Sichuan province. But Mr Tan, who is proud to be the country's first directly elected township head, said he was pleased with his performance. 'I did not cheat the peasants and I've done what I promised,' he said. Despite complaints about construction fees and the slow progress of the rural economy, most farmers said the new chief was doing reasonably. 'I do not believe one election will make drastic changes. But directly electing our leader is better, of course,' one farmer said. But it is not certain that there will be another direct election in Buyun. The official Legal Daily called the polls illegal and unconstitutional, an apparent bid to stop other areas doing the same. Township chiefs are supposed to be appointed by local Communist Party officials and approved by the county People's Congress. 'Local party cadres who supported the 'illegal' direct election were not punished,' said Li Fan, a Beijing political scientist. This showed 'the leaders did not consider it a mistake, though they did not approve of the pioneer experiment at this stage'.