Abstract:

This article takes the town of Telahe in Northeastern China as an example and analyzes the change of the township financial structure after the agricultural tax reform and the township government’s action of project packaging. Before the agricultural tax reform， the township governments gathered their revenues mainly through taxing the peasantsa financial form of “mandatory revenues from the subordinates”. After the reform， “project finance” has become the main revenue resource for the township governments， which is achieved by the township government applying for project funds. The examination of the goose-raising project in the town of Telahe reveals that the township government has packaged every segment in goose raising into a project that can be used for fund applications and that the success of getting the funds from the authorities above is enhanced by fabricating numbers and administrative performance and propaganda. The author claims that it is this financial form of “getting revenues from the superiors” that has led the township governments to packaging their projects.

Key words: agricultural tax reform, getting revenues from the superiors, project packaging, township government,