CHINA WORLDS LARGEST CIVIL SOCIETY

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CHINA WORLDS LARGEST CIVIL SOCIETY?

• Lauri Paltemaa, Centre for East Asian Studies,
  University of Turku 2008

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INTRODUCTION

• Civil society (Larry Diamond 1994) The realm of
  organized life that is voluntary,
  self-supporting, and autonomous from the state
  and bound by a legal order or set of shared
  rules.
• Seen essential to functioning democracy and
  democratization authoritarian states
• The source of social movements that can lead to
  democracy

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INTRODUCTION

• The presumed connection between civil society and
  democracy also behind much of Western interest in
  Chinese civil society
• Research on Chinese civil society began a major
  topic in China Studies after the Beijing Spring
  of 1989
• Findings
• At the moment China does not have a civil society
  as defined in Western research tradition
• Historically, before 1949 Chinese society had a
  nascent civil society to a varying degree

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INTRODUCTION

• However, during the past 30 years of economic
  reforms there has evolved a lively realm of civic
  activities, organisations and activism also in
  China
• Here we discuss the nature of this realm and its
  relation to the party-state

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INTRODUCTION

• Here, the division between political and
  apolitical realms of civil society used
• Also called critical and non critical realms
  (Yang Tongqi)
• Critical has more political content
• Non-critical about leisure, profit, charity, etc.
  apolitical activities
• Can act in complementary role to the state

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INTRODUCTION

• Occasionally, apolitical can also turn into
  political
• In principle, market reforms can be seen
  enforcing both realms
• Also the case in China
• However, in China the political realm is
  suppressed, and apolitical one is co-opted and
  thus controlled (managed civil society)

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APOLITICAL REALM

• Apolitical realm refers to a wide number of
  officially sanctioned and un-sanctioned
  Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) in China
• Officially classified in various types
• Social Organizations (SOs) (????, shehui tuanti)
• Foundations (???, jijinhui)
• Civil Non-enterprise Institutions (CNIs) (?????,
  minban fei qiye)
• Public Institutions (????, shiye danwei)
• Charitable Organizations (????, cishan tuanti)
• Religious organizations (????, zongjiao tuanxi)
• Political parties (????, zhengzhi dangpai)

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APOLITICAL REALM

• NGO (Salamon and Anheier) Organisations that
  are not only formal, private, and
  non-profit-distributing, they are also
  self-governing and voluntary.
• Chinese definition of NGO
• Official definition
• NGOs refer to all organizations and institutions
  that are outside of the state system and operate
  as non-profits. (but excluding religious groups,
  human rights organizations, and policy advocacy
  associations).

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APOLITICAL REALM

• The Maoist (Stalinist) legacy still visible in
  Chinese policy and practice on civic
  organisations
• The party-state maintains a wide variety of mass
  organisations, satellite political parties and
  party auxiliary organisations (Young Pioneers,
  etc.)
• These have organisation, mobilisation, and
  opinion management purposes

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CHINESE NGOs

• Apart from these there are increasing number of
  organisations and groups of people formed outside
  the party-state
• Registered and unregistered organisations
• Estimate 11 (100 0000 100 0000)
• However, most registered organisations are run by
  public organisations (schools, hospitals, etc) or
  companies
• Only about 120 000 registered NGOs in 2001 were
  organised by citizen groups

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CHINESE NGOs

• The registered civic organisations termed as
  Social Organisations (SO, ????, shehui tuanti)
• Include business associations, environmental
  groups, voluntary groups, womens rights groups,
  charity organisations, sport teams, etc.
• Regulated through legislation (first drafted in
  1998)

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CHINESE NGOs

• Regulating NGOs
• All NGOs must be registered to have status of a
  legal person
• Registration takes place on civil affairs
  departments at and above county level or
  Government departments or authorized departments
• All NGOs need an officially approved organisation
  to act as their guarantor

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CHINESE NGOs

• Conditions for registering SOs
• More than 50 individual members or more than 30
  institutional members, or a total of at least
  fifty
• A standard name, organisation, and location
• Staff with qualifications appropriate to the
  professional activities of the organisation
• Lawful assets and a minimum level of funds
  (100,000 yuan for national level SOs, a minimum
  of 30,000 yuan for local level SOs)

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CHINESE NGOs

• Management of NGOs
• Three-selves policy Self-operation,
  self-hiring, self-sufficiency
• Encouraging the participation in social services
• Restricting political participation
• Registration requirements comparatively demanding
• Many groups simply do not register themselves
• 100 0000?

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NGO-STATE RELATIONSHIP

• Interdependent relations
• For NGOs
• Political protection social approval
• Mobilizing resources
• Fulfilling their missions
• For the state
• Helper for providing social services
• Enhancing political legitimacy
• Defending against international political
  pressures

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NGO-STATE RELATIONSHIP

• Peaceful coexistence or conflict?
• Government attitudes towards the NGOs
  inconsistent and contradictive
• For example, central and local governments may
  have different views on same NGO
• Peacefully coexisting in the fields of social
  services
• But NGOs should not touch political taboos
• E.g. environmental NGOs

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NGO-STATE RELATIONSHIP

• NGOs strategies in dealing with the state
• Limiting the scope and size of organizations
• Evading political sensitive issues, and focusing
  on solving economic and social problems
• Making use of opportunities inside the system
• The state cant tightly control the society any
  longer conflicts between different agencies
• Appealing for international help

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NGO-STATE RELATIONSHIP

• A civil society in making?
• To a great extent, NGOs enjoy autonomy in
  self-operation, self-hiring, and self-sufficiency
  
• But NGOs have to conform to partys ideology, and
  have to gain government approval as the
  precondition of registration
• NGOs must pay for challenging government policies

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POLITICAL REALM

• Political realm of civil society denotes
  organised political activities
• During the reform period political activism has
  been on rise
• The Democracy Movement, ethnic unrest, religious
  discontent, grass-roots protests, labour
  activism, etc.

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POLITICAL REALM

• Especially after the mid 1990s there has been a
  dramatic increase in protests (mass incidents,
  see figure 1.)
• A Mass Incident An incident where a group of
  people illegally gather to disrupt public order
  and destroy public property.

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Figure 1) The Number of Major Mass Incidents
in China 1993-2005
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POLITICAL REALM

• Most of Chinese protest action is issue-based,
  local, and short-lived
• In China the typical mode of collective protest
  during the reform period can be labelled as
  rightful protest (OBrien)
• Protest as defence of protestors legal rights,
  righteous values, or against criminal activities
  of individual officials

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POLITICAL REALM

• Typically framed in non-antagonist terms
  vis-à-vis the Party
• Usually peaceful, but lately also violent riots
  increased
• Increase of protests also attributed to the
  increase of rights consciousness of the masses
• Two major types peasant protest against land
  confiscations and other infringements of economic
  interests, and worker protest against lay-offs or
  other work related grievances
• In 2000 participants in protests half rural -
  half urban

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POLITICAL REALM
Picture 1) Violent protest in Dongzhou 2005
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POLITICAL REALM

• Example of environmental demonstrations in Xiamen
  2007 http//www.youtube.com/watch?vxSjNK1Q4iiA

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POLITICAL REALM

• Usual tactics in protest is to create big
  renao, hubbub, as a way to attract attention
  from local authorities (or their superiors) and
  obtaining settlement for grievances
• Central agricultural provinces and the Northern
  rustbelt most instable, but protest occur
  everywhere

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PROTEST EXAMPLE

• Example 2004 mass protest in Sichuan province,
  Yaan City, Hanyuan County
• Farmers protesting dam construction
• Losing land
• Promised 100 000 RMB per head, received 10000
• First tried to use the petition system up to
  Beijing

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Picture 2) Dadu River dam construction site 2006
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PROTEST EXAMPLE

• When this did not help, villagers resorted to
  direct action
• 100 000 participants, 10000 police needed to
  quell the riot that ensued
• Central government reacted by condemning the
  protest and at the same time sending an
  investigation team to the place
• Ordered police not to arrest participants, just
  its leaders
• Justified through stability and security

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POLITICAL REALM

• Labour activism
• In 2005 China had reportedly 300 000 strikes or
  labour incidents
• Labour incidents including strikes have increased
  13.5 times between 1993 and 2006
• Many of the incidents have been related to
  lay-offs and reorganisation of the SOEs
• Other reasons unpaid salaries, labour conditions,
  cut-backs in benefits, embezzlements, etc.

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Figure 2) Number of Strikes and Workers Involved
in Them 1992-2002 (Source China Statistical
Yearbook 2003)
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POLITICAL REALM

• It has been estimated that about 80 of labour
  activism targets the state
• Reforms have set the workers and local government
  against each other because the latter is behind
  many decisions that harm the workers
• The government is also the arbitrator in
  disputes, and thus becomes easily the target when
  legal remedy is sought, but fails

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POLITICAL REALM

• Labour activism is very sensitive to the
  party-state
• Polish Scenario as the horror case
• Independent labour unions not allowed
• Official labour unions part of the party-state
  enforce labour laws and policies, handle social
  welfare

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POLITICAL REALM

• Typical strategy to handle collective protest is
  to arrest the leaders and let the rank and file
  go
• Preventing protest from becoming coordinated over
  areas / issues
• Suppression of all oppositional organizations a
  top priority
• Police repression
• A NGO estimate for December 2007 14 181
  political and religious prisoners held in Chinese
  prisons

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POLITICAL REALM

• Potential for more protest
• Police reports reveal that on the grass-roots
  level Chinese counties (c. 2800) can host tens of
  religious and political small groupings
  (parties) of discontent people at the same time
  -gt potential for social movements and opposition
  exists
• Also exiled Democracy Movement active
• The Internet has created room for virtual protest
  and organisation (although controlled by the
  party-state)

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CONCLUSION

• So what to make of all this?
• China has a managed civil society
• May not be conferring to the common script of
  freedom of choice on market leading to demands
  for freedom of choice in politics as well

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CONCLUSION

• The Party uses strategic action in its relation
  to the civil society
• Co-opting, cooperation, creating common interests
  for some parts of the civil society (middle
  classes, entrepreneurs, etc)
• Rising the costs of collective oppositional
  action suppression, censorship for others

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CONCLUSION

• Co-optation accepting middle class members into
  party-state institutions
• Corporatism establishing mutually beneficial
  ties to business organisations, environmental
  groups, charity organisations, etc.
• Suppression police oppression targeted at
  oppositional groups (at least their leaders),
  preventing national organisations from emerging

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CONCLUSION

• Managing civil society Dwarfing the political
  realm and directing the apolitical to its own
  purposes
• Thus far successful in deflecting major
  challenges to the one-party rule, but will this
  work in the long run?