Leadership Attributes Salient to Chinese Local Voters

Abstract

Chinese voters are already allowed to elect their leaders directly at the village level, although such free elections at higher levels (township, county, city, province, and nationwide) are still technically illegal. Based on a national survey conducted by a leading research firm in China, this study examines how people’s demographic characteristics (age, income, and education) and their attitudes (beliefs and evaluations) toward their local administrators (city mayors or county governors) could help predict their voting intentions in the event a free and direct election would take place in the future. An understanding of Chinese voters’ decision-making processes is critical for predicting the effects of the current electoral system on China’s sociopolitical development. The lessons learned during this predemocratic stage may be crucial for a transition of China’s political system in the future.

Keywords

Chinese voters voting intentions leadership attributes Chinese election

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Ahmed, S. A. (1993). The effect of moderating variables on the attitude-behavior relationship. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 5(1), 78-85.

Ajzen, I. , & Fishbein, M. (1980). Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Allen, J. L. , & Post, D. J. (2004, Spring). Source valence in assessing candidate image in a local election. Communication Research Reports, 21(2), 174-187.

Ben-Ur, J. , & Newman, B. I. (2002, December). Motives, perceptions and voting intention of voters in the 2000 U.S. presidential election. Psychology & Marketing, 19(12), 1047-1065.

Brigham, J. , & Severy, L. J. (1976). Personality and attitude determinants of voting behavior. Social Behavior & Personality, 4(1), 127-139.

Cao, S. Y. (2003). Zhengzhi wenming ABC; Zhongguo zhengzhi tizhi gaige gangyao [ABCs of political civilization: A program for Chinese political reform]. New York: Cozy House.

Chaffee, S. H. , & McLeod, J. M. (1973). Individual vs. social predictors of information-seeking. Journalism Quarterly, 50, 237-245.

Chen, J. , & Zhong, Y. (2002, February). Why do people vote in semicompetitive elections in China? Journal of Politics, 64(1), 178-197.

Davis, M. H. (1982). Voting intentions and the 1980 Carter-Reagan debate. Journal of Applied and Social Psychology, 12(6), 481-492.

10.

Desautels, J. , & Ellis, L. (1993, June). Candidates’ perceived height and voters’ preference in the 1992 presidential election. Psychological Reports, 72(3), 988-990.

11.

Fishbein, M. , & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention, and behavior. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

12.

Jaccard, J. , Knox, R. , & Brinberg, D. (1980). Designing political campaigns to elect a candidate: Toward a social psychological theory of voting behavior. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 19(5), 367-383.

13.

Jiang, W. D. (1996, March). Grassroots democracy: Taking root. Beijing Review, 39, 11-14.

14.

Kennedy, J. J. (2002). The face of “grassroots democracy” in rural China: Real versus cosmetic elections. Asian Survey, 42(3), 456-482.

15.

Li, F. (1999, February). Buyun xiang shi zhongguo zhengzhi tizhi gaige de “xiaogang cun” ma? [Is Buyun Township the “Xiaogang Village” (turning point) of the reform of China’s political system?]. Zhongguo shehui daokan, (2), 14-17.

16.

McCombs, M. E. (1972). Mass communication in political campaigns: Information, gratification and persuasion. In F. G. Kline & P. J. Tichenor (Eds.), Current perspectives in mass communication research (pp. 169-194). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

17.

McCormick, B. L. (1996). China’s Leninist parliament and public sphere: A comparative analysis. In B. L. McCormick & J. Unger (Eds.), China after socialism (pp. 131-156). Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe.

18.

McGovern, C. (2002, June). Chinese puzzle: 117 boys for 100 girls. Report/Newsmagazine (National Edition), 29(12), 56.

19.

Schaffner, B. F. , & Streb, M. J. (2002). The partisan heuristics in low-information elections. Public Opinion Quarterly, 66(4), 559-581.

20.

Shi, T. J. (1999, November). Voting and nonvoting in China: Voting behavior in plebiscitary and limited-choice elections. Journal of Politics, 61(4), 1115-1139.

21.

Singh, K. , Leong, S. M. , Tan, C. T. , & Wong, K. C. (1995). A theory of reasoned action perspective of voting behavior: Model and empirical test. Psychology & Marketing, 12(1), 37-51.

22.

Sun, T. , & Wu, G. H. (2004, April). Consumption patterns of Chinese urban and rural consumers. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 21(4), 245-253.

23.

Tong, J. (2003, June). The gender gap in political culture and participation in China. Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 36(2), 131-150.