Three days later, he won the post with an overwhelmingly majority of the votes. He promised to develop the local economy, improve people's standard of living and build up the area's infrastructure.

Within weeks Liu faced the biggest test of his career. The municipal government of Chengdu decided to build a railway station in Xindu district. Many houses in Mulan town would have to be demolished and large numbers of villagers relocated.

Demolition often leads to disputes and social unrest, as it is difficult to balance everyone's interests. To get a clear understanding of the issues facing villagers, Liu instructed all Party officials to go to the neighborhoods. Each official was given responsibility for one village and told to address problems raised by the villagers. Every village was also allowed to send a representative to monitor the demolition and compensation process to ensure transparency.

The Chengdu municipal government gave compensation of 40,000 yuan (US$6,000) per mu (0.06 hectares) of land, a sum seen as too low by the villagers. The township government also allocated new land to farmers to help them start a new life.

The demolition process went smoothly in Mulan town. The success was due to the trust and tolerance of the villagers, Liu Gangyi said; which in turn was because they had elected all the township officials themselves.

Mulan town was made a model for all townships in Xindu and the "direct election system" was extended to a wider area.

But even as a directly-elected Party chief, Liu Gangyi still had extensive powers of patronage, such as recommending candidates for the Party committee.

This provoked heated public debate. Some said it was undemocratic for appointment and dismissal of cadres to be decided by one man. In response, the district government said the Party secretary only had the right to make recommendations, and all officials would continue to be accountable to the public and higher authorities.