Whereas in the past local leaders were instructed to focus primarily if not only on the economy, by 2009 they were told that nearly every target is a priority. Leaders were expected to advance “social development” (encompassing education, employment, health care, culture, and community safety), promote “sustainable development,” support “livelihoods,” maintain “social harmony,” and enforce “party and cadre discipline.” Worse still, several of these targets are in tension with one another. For example, promoting economic growth—still the number 1 item on the evaluation circular—is in conflict
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