“Beautiful Countryside Construction,” Policy Inspection Teams, and Grassroots Political Participation in China

ABSTRACT This article seeks to demonstrate that there is a certain degree of political participation in contemporary China. We argue that the qunzhong, or ‘masses’, in China can be divided into three categories: members of autonomous grassroots organizations, local elites (xin xiangxian), and victims of rights violations, and we illustrate our discussion of the impact of these three groups on policy through the example of the ‘Beautiful Countryside Construction’ policy. Our analysis focuses on how the masses express their opinions to inspection teams dispatched by county governments. Finally, we argue that China’s grassroots qunzhong do have a role in providing feedback on policy, but whether their suggestions are heeded by the higher-level authorities still depends on wider political considerations.