Swatting flies that plague rural areas

Moral evaluation and public opinion are often ignored during the appraisal of candidates to be village heads in favor of connections, as candidates are often handpicked by their superiors as "capable talent" to govern the villages. Meanwhile, offering bribes to buy votes is rampant in some villages.

And as the election winners do so as a result of connections or some backstage deals, they only need to please their superiors or backers who then provide shelter for them. In this way, intricate networks of interests are formed at the grassroots level.

And village heads, who appear to occupy a petty official post, actually wield huge power. They have the right to dispose of collective land and are in charge of the distribution of other resources, such as funds allocated from the top.

The lack of oversight in some remote villages means these village heads call the shots on everything for the other villagers.

That explains why in Meng's case, rather than petitioning to the above-level government, the villagers turned to the media in the hope of seeking justice.

In fact, Meng may not have been held to account for her crimes had she not had the reporter beaten up.

The fact that Meng was able to commit so many offenses shows the complete lack of supervision from above.

The central government should conduct inspections to seek public opinions in remote villages. Instead of announcing them beforehand, these inspections should be conducted secretly to prevent the village heads from being able to cover up their misdeeds.

Also raising awareness of Party discipline and the law is an imperative task for the rural areas. The judicial departments could send legal volunteers and lawyers to inform farmers of their rights and how to use the law to safeguard them.

And most important, villagers should also be taught the importance of fair village elections to prevent any rigged voting.

Only a village head truly elected by the villagers will seek to guarantee their interests.

The writer is an editor with China Daily. lifangchao@chinadaily.com.cn