Elisabeth Rosenthal quotes Li Dongmin, the director of a "a private market research firm". This is a little odd, because anything remotely political is not really entirely private in China.

Just before the Party Congress, the China Social Survey Institute, a private market research firm, polled 3,000 mostly urban Chinese about their views on government performance, offering a a glimpse of how they would cast their ballots if they had a chance to vote. There was widespread satisfaction with Chinese economic growth and the rise in its international standing and influence, said Li Dongmin, the Institute's director. But people also complained of serious anxieties and concerns, about issues like corruption, China's poorly functioning legal system and their lack of voice in government. "Ten years ago, the frequent concern was getting access to decent food, like meat and vegetables," Mr. Li said, "but after a decade of stability and economic development people have aspirations that go way beyond that." They even extend into the political sphere, he said. "There is the general hope and expectation that after the Party Congress, there will be slow steady progress in the legal system and improving our political institutions," he added, noting that people specifically mentioned a desire to expand local elections to higher levels of government and to improve methods for appointing officials. Two-thirds hoped that those new methods would be "quite different and improved from the present one � one that allows expressions of public opinion," he said.

It's hardly surprising that his results are so positive. Still, even if the urbanites are much better off than the ruralites, it's a testament to progress, and it's interesting to see the majority of the sample express interest in elections.