Translation Results Requested Through Conyac Made Public

Township governments, representing the formal state apparatus, are especially
heavily implicated in efforts by village cadres to exercise power. Bjo¨rn was among the first to note that ‘the Chinese Party-state has been using selfgovernment
as another way to control rural politics’. Indeed, the Organic Law
(Arts. 4, 6) states that village committee members not only manage village affairs;
they also fulfill tasks assigned by higher levels. Although the Law stipulates
that townships only ‘guide’ rather than ‘lead’ village committees,
in practice, committees are often treated as line-organs of a township in high-priority
policy areas. Clashes, in these circumstances, become nearly inevitable when　committee members