Developing paper topics #1 China,leadership, succession

Developing paper topics #1

http://faculty.washington.edu/swhiting/pols442/442spr12papertopics.pdf

China ,leadership, succession

Civil Society in China

Rapid increase of social organizations

Number of nat i onal l evel SOs

44 98

1600

1200

18482000

- 400

100

600

1100

1600

2100

1950s 1965 1989 1992 1997 2008

Civil Society in China

Facilitating factors Economic reform

Work unit society market society Emergence of privately controlled wealth

Civil society in China in comparative contextSocial organizations per 10,000

population

China 2.5USA 52.0France 110.0Argentina 25.0

*Lu Xueyi 2008

Note also: uneven distribution within ChinaEast vs. WestRural vs. Urban

Civil Society in China5

Significance of civil society in theories of democracy

What are the key assumptions?

Civil society—conceptualization

6

Civil society Larry Diamond (1999; cited in Tang &Zhan

p. 429) A sphere of independent group activity

Autonomous from the state Able to make demands on the state

Civil society and pluralism7

Pluralism A system of interest representation in which

Any group can freely form To express interests autonomous from state control

Civil society—corporatist limitations

8

Corporatism A system of interest representation in which

Only certain groups are licensed by the state In exchange for limitations on their expression of

interests

Civil Society—corporatist limitations

9

The authoritarian state uses a corporatist approach to Pre-empt the formation of unapproved interest

groups Coopt the interests expressed by approved groups Repress the expression of interests outside the

control of the state

“Regulations on the Registration and Management of Social Organizations” Implemented by Ministry of Civil Affairs 1998

Regulations Concerning the Registration and Administration of Social Organizations, 1998

Article 10 (barriers to entry) > 50 individual members or > 30 unit members. standardized name and corresponding

organizations NO duplicates allowed (state occupies existing

“space”) permanent address staffed with full-time personnel to carry out

relevant activities legal assets and source of funds

national social organization RMB100,000 (U.S.$12,195)

local social organization RMB30,000 (U.S.$3,659)

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Regulations Concerning the Registration and Administration of Social Organizations, 1998

Article 11 approval document issued by the

authorities concerned. identification of the initiators and

designated responsible persons

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Dual Management System双重管理体系

The ‘Regulation on Registration and Administration of Social Organizations’ (1998) requires:

Sponsoring unit in charge of social organization’s operation (yewu zhuguan danwei 业务主管单位 )

The unit of registration, which is the Department of Civil Affairs at different level (dengji guanli jiguan登记管理机关 )

Effects Limits the number (if not the development) of registered SOs. Encourages registration under different systems

profit-oriented companies paying taxes, but this raises other barriers

Unregistered Political risk

Policy advocacy by social organizations

Results Number %

No effect on policy 1523 53.29

Policy adoption 279 9.76

Policy change 33 1.15

Policy adoption&change 61 2.13

Missing data(most can be regarded as

having no effect or as never having tried to influence government 962 33.66

Probability of Effective Policy advocacy for Social organizations (Logit regression results, based on 3 province survey by CCSS, PKU 2003) necessity of “embeddedness”

Wang Dan, Autonomous Students’ Union

Civil society or corporatism?Case 1: Tiananmen 198915


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http://www.tsquare.tv/film/gateExcerpts.php

Civil society or corporatism?Case 1: Tiananmen 1989 Autonomous

student union Suppressed; no

multiple organizations allowed

Organizers arrested, sentenced to prison Wang Dan sentenced

to 4 years, paroled early

17


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Beijing Workers’ Autonomous Union Han Dongfang

the promise he had made to the leaders of the Beijing Workers' Autonomous Union before being appointed their leader.

"If the time comes for me to go to prison, I will not wait for them to catch me, but will turn myself in."

Han rode his bicycle back to Beijing, where he reported to police headquarters -- and was sent to prison for the next 22 months.


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Where is Han Dongfang today? Impact of Tiananmen experience Founded China Labour Bulletin, established

1994 NGO Dedicated to fighting for workers’ rights in

China Where is CLB located?


20

http://www.clb.org.hk/en/

Civil society or corporatism?Case 2: China Democracy Party 21

Note impact of Tiananmen experience among founders Wang Youcai, Tiananmen veteran

Graduate Student in Physics, Peking University Sentenced for counter-revolutionary activity Detained, imprisoned (1990), paroled (1991)


Wang Youcai 1998 founder of China Democracy Party

Attempt formal, legal registration of opposition political party Through provincial civil affairs bureau with

responsibility for “social organizations” Invoked Chinese constitution and regulations

on social organizations Invoked signing of International Covenant on

Civil and Political Rights


Declared an “illegal organization.” Wang Youcai sentenced in December

1998 to 11 years' imprisonment for subversion by the Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court. Paroled for medical reasons 2004

Co-founder Qin Yongmin served a 12-year sentence for endangering state security in Hubei Province.

Civil society or corporatism?Case 2: China Democracy Party Criminalization of civil society activists PRC Constitution

Article 28. The state maintains public order and suppresses treasonable and other counter-revolutionary activities; it penalizes actions that endanger public security and disrupt the socialist economy and other criminal activities, and punishes and reforms criminals.

PRC Criminal Code (1997) Article 105(2): Use of rumor mongering or

defamation or other means to incite subversion of the national regime or the overthrow of the socialist system shall be punished…

Jingjing Zhang, Litigation Director

Civil society or corporatism?Case 3: Center for Legal Assistance to Pollution Victims

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Impact of Tiananmen Experience

Civil society or corporatism?Case 3: Center for Legal Assistance27

Impact of Tiananmen experience motivated Zhang Jingjing to join

Center for Legal Assistance to Pollution victims Affiliated with China University of Political Science and Law

University provides a kind of umbrella Couldn’t function outside of university cover Funded by Ford Foundation

Dependent on international funding Represents pollution victims in lawsuits Helps communities organize public hearings on environmental

rights and licensing processes. Has won and lost milestone cases in the Chinese courts

first successful environmental class action suit in China, against a chemical company that discharged toxic substances in Fujian Province.

landmark (but unsuccessful) suit against the Beijing Municipal Commission of Urban Planning and the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau

Civil society or corporatism?Case 3: Center for Legal Assistance28

Jingjing Zhang Recently left CLAPV for PILI Public Interest Law Initiative

(international ngo)

Civil society or corporatism?Case 4: Charter ‘08

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Who is Liu Xiaobo?

Civil society or corporatism?Case 4: Charter ‘08

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Impact of Tiananmen experience, e.g. Liu Xiaobo (literary critic, video)

Also inspired by Charter 77 in Czechoslovakia(1977) 200+ intellectuals formed a loose, informal, and open

association of people...united by the will to strive individually and collectively for respect for human and civil rights in our country and throughout the world.

Charter ’08 300+ intellectuals, elites freedom of expression freedom of association free elections. coincide with the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration

of Human Rights Dec’08 Police harassment of signers Liu Xiaobo formally charged with inciting subversion June 09

Case 5: Open Constitution Initiative

Founder: Xu Zhiyong Volunteered to be the defense lawyer for Sun

Dawu Founder of Dawu Group—businessman critical of gov:

arrested Elected twice as a People’s Representative at

Haidian District of Beijing Conducted research on petitioners in Beijing, etc. In March 2009, OCI prepared to file a

collective lawsuit for victims of the milk power poisoning incident, seeking compensation for those who could not afford to hire a lawyer.

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Case 5: Open Constitution Initiative Significant international financial support In substance, a non-profit NGO But technically a company,

since organizing as a non-profit NGO is extremely difficult in China

July 2009 slapped with a gigantic 1.42 million yuan fine by the tax authorities for alleged tax violations

Result of international financial support OCI's leader Xu Zhiyong did not deny the

possibility of minor violations. Is more is going on here that just tax problems?

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Case 5: Open Constitution Initiative

Xu Zhiyong Summer 2009 charged with tax evasion;

appealed July 29, 2009 arrested; prompted

campaign Released August 2009

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Totalitarianism Authoritarianism

Single charismatic leader No charismatic leader

Single dominant party Single dominant party

Utopian, forward-looking ideology Nationalist and performance-based ideology

State control over all organized activity Emergence of non-political private sphere

Mobilized participation Apathy okay

Popular fear instilled by arbitrary terror end of fear and arbitrary terror

no organized opposition allowed

Documents

Developing paper topics #1 China,leadership, succession