Survival Strategies of Township Governments in Rural China: from predatory taxation to land trade

Based on my fieldwork in rural China in 2004–2005, where I conducted semi-structured interviews with 108 local cadres and villagers, this article explores the survival strategies of township governments as the most recent tax reforms (i.e. the tax-for-fee reform and the abolition of the agricultural tax) have been implemented since 2000. It argues that township governments have taken adaptive strategies to maintain over-quota personnel even under pressure to reduce it. It finds that the strategies have changed from predatory taxation in the 1990s to land trade in the last decade, while the implementation of the rural tax reforms has brought fiscal crises in agricultural villages. Local officials have a limited incentive to respond to collective resistance on taxation but do not have the same incentive on land disputes.     

Direct Township Elections in China: latest developments and prospects

The first direct election of township government leader was held in Sichuan Province in 1998, following a decade of direct elections at the village level. There have since been experiments with four categories of elections at the township level: direct elections of government leader, deputies to the People's Congress, Party Secretary, and deputies to the Party Congress. Various indirect methods under different terms have also been introduced, which invariably increase the more active participation of ordinary voters. The assessments of these elections vary from total negation, serious doubts to enthusiastic praise. Suggestions for improvement focus on lowering the qualifications of candidates and allowing campaigning by candidates themselves. Following the latest amendment to the Constitution that extends the term of office of the township government from three years to five, four options for further reform are available. Except for one option, direct elections are proposed or at least possible.     

基层政府信任与城乡社区居民的选举参与

我国居(村)委会选举在很大程度上是一个自上而下由政府强力推动的过程,其中街道办(乡镇政府)所起的作用往往至关重要。本文以南京市城乡若干社区的实证调查为研究个案,对居民参与社区居(村)委会选举的现状进行解析和反思,并通过Logistic回归分析深入探讨居民对街道办(乡镇政府)的信任度对社区居(村)委会选举究竟有多大以及何种程度的影响。最后以此为基础进行深入分析、研究与反思,阐明提升居民对街道办(乡镇政府)的信任度,从而推动社区居(村)委会选举与居民自治精神发展的可行性途径。     

Casino Politics,Organized Crime and the Post-Colonial State in Macau

Organized crime and politics have been traditionally intertwined in Macau. During the colonial era, the Portuguese administration was characterized by bureaucratic corruption and a cozy relationship with casino capitalists. The colonial state had limited autonomy vis-à-vis the casino capitalists. With the growth of tourism and the associated casino industry in Macau during the 1990s, organized crime groups penetrated various casinos and emerged as a baffling problem. Yet, neither the Portuguese administration nor the casino capitalists had the capability to contain the use of violence by organized crime groups. As Macau approached the end of the Portuguese colonial rule, the People's Republic of China (PRC) decided to intervene in the rapidly deteriorating law and order. The Chinese intervention took the forms of stationing the People's Liberation Army in the Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR), penalizing the triad boss Wan Kuok-kuoi, and supporting the new Edmund Ho Government's attempts at civil service reforms. The SAR Government also liberalized the casino industry by embracing American investment. Due to market competition, the local casino capitalists have been forced to improve the management of casinos and to minimize the infiltration of triads. Unlike the colonial state, the post-colonial state in the Macau SAR has enhanced its relative autonomy vis-à-vis the local casino capitalists, directly or indirectly curbing the detrimental impact of organized crime. The case study of Macau is illustrative of the critical role of state autonomy vis-à-vis casino capitalists, whose previous monopoly over casino management encountered the infiltration of organized crime that grasped the opportunities for maximizing profits in the era of the rapidly expanding casino industry. The Macau example also demonstrates the city-state's use of market competition as a means to improve casino management and to contain the spread of organized crime at least in the short run.     

The development of corporate governance in China

Over the last decade there have been significant economic reforms in China. Foreign investment is encouraged and there are increasing numbers of joint ventures with foreign partners. The stock exchanges of Shanghai and Shenzen have developed quite rapidly, and the expansion of China's economy and the growing importance of foreign investment has implications for the development of corporate governance structures in China. The internationalization of institutional portfolios ensures that there is a cross‐border interest in corporate governance, and that China's steps in developing corporate governance will be watched with interest. In this paper, we will explore the existing cultural aspects of China, the structure of share ownership in China, recent developments that have taken place in China's capital markets, including the growing foreign influence, and their implications for corporate governance developments. We compare and contrast the influences on corporate governance in the West with those in China. We conclude that any model of corporate governance which develops in China is likely to embody the special role of the state and certain idiosyncratic cultural aspects of China, whilst taking on certain of the characteristics of an Anglo‐Saxon corporate governance model.     

Village Election and Governance: do villagers care?

Village elections at the grassroots level have been regularly conducted for more than a decade in the context of the Chinese political system. Both negative and positive views have been expressed and written on village elections. How does one evaluate Chinese village elections? Free and fair elections require conformity to international election principles, rules, and procedures. This study develops a minimum procedural criterion to assess if village elections have followed internationally-accepted rules and procedures of free and fair elections. We also measure the meaningfulness of village elections by examining the effects of elections on village governance and villagers' life. We find that elections have been conducted in a manner consistent with proscribed rules and procedures and are generally free and fair, and there is a considerable convergence of views of villagers and cadres who see that elections are meaningful in producing positive changes in village governance and life. The data also confirm that elected villagers' committees are still in the long shadow of township governments and village Party branches.     

重建“双轨政治”与社区社会组织参与社会治理

费孝通认为中国的"双轨政治"传统遭到破坏后,基层行政出现僵化,导致了乡土社会的失序,乡土重建需要重塑自下而上的政治轨道。受此启发,在当前加快推进基层自治体制改革的背景下,社区社会组织建设及其参与社会治理可以起到重建自下而上政治轨道的作用,不仅如此,它还是有效应对知识社会挑战的关键性社会基础设施。     

公民参与和社区治理——兼论当前农村社区治理中的村民参与问题及相应对策

公民参与是检验地方治理水平的重要标志。社区居民的参与程度直接影响到社区治理的绩效。当前农村社区村民参与公共产品建设的过程中存在诸多问题,主要表现为有序参与意识贫困化,参与行为的边缘化、非制度化和无序化,不仅严重影响了公共产品的建设成效,而且严重影响了农村社区的稳定与和谐。所以,必须不断完善农村社区公共产品建设中参与制度,提高村民的制度化参与水平,保证农村社区公共产品建设成效和社区的稳定与和谐。     

乡镇党委领导成员直接差额选举的实践与探索

乡镇党委成员直接差额选举解决了权力与民主脱节和权力来源问题,体现了党管干部和群众公认原则,体现了党内对人民民主的示范和带动作用;同时,有利于扩大群众基础,扩大了选人用人视野;转变了干部监督方式;实现了对上负责和对下负责的统一。目前,乡镇党委成员直接差额选举还处在试点探索阶段,应注意处理好报名资格条件、民主推荐、党管干部原则、因乡镇制宜等问题。     

The Discursive Turn: deliberative governance in China's urbanized villages

This article examines local governance and citizen participation in China through unstructured public deliberation. Case studies from two urbanized villages show that unstructured, informal public deliberation potentially leads to more autonomy and diverse channels for pursuing citizens' appeals at the local level, along with increased consideration given by local government to grassroots requests relating to practical governance matters. Although taking place outside formal political institutions, unstructured public deliberation can exert influences on policy or decision-making inside government organizations through well-coordinated transmission mechanisms between the public and the local government. During this process, well-resourced community organizations and actors play a vital role through their bridging functions to produce dynamic relations of deliberative governance. This bridging role serves to deliver deliberative outcomes from the public sphere to the decision-making authorities, and it also includes the collection of feedback on policy as well as the means to negotiate for policy adjustment by facilitating a policy implementation process.     

Reform ideology,political commitment and resource transfor: An alternative model for the explanation of China's economic reform∗

One of the most intriguing ironies of our era is the result of recent changes in the former communist world. Whereas the “democratizing” Russia and Eastern European countries are caught in repeated political as well as economic crises, the “unrepentant” authoritarian China and Vietnam are seeing their economies booming and more market‐oriented. Such an irony poses many important questions. One of the questions is how China has managed to get where it is. This paper represents an attempt to address this question. Firstly, it will briefly outline where economic reforms have brought China so far. Secondly, it will discuss two popular models used to explain China's economic performance. And finally, it will develop an alternative model that combines politics and economy in accounting for China's reform experience.     

Evaluation Processes,Local Cadres' Behaviour and Local Development Processes

This study investigates the impact of political evaluations on the behaviour of leading county and township cadres in rural China. The article is structured in two parts. In the first section the institutional foundations of the evaluation system for local administrations in rural China will be introduced. The section will conclude with a brief overview of policy reforms initiated by the centre to tackle some of the perceived shortcomings of the present system. The second part of this article will feature the behavioural responses of local cadres to evaluations as identified in our field research interviews and secondary literature. It becomes obvious that the performance evaluation system and its targets have become an important point of orientation for local cadres—although there are important variations among different groups of officials. Finally, in the conclusion the argument for an alternative perspective on performance evaluations in the context of rural China will be developed: on the one side a channel for specialised political communication, steering cadres' behaviour and promoting an incentive system; on the other side a trigger to a multitude of social responses of leading local cadres. In the end these social responses might have more influence on cadre behaviour than the incentives embodied in the evaluations themselves.     

Chinese Corporate Governance and Prospects for Reform

A critical element in China's current economic reform program is the creation of modern corporate governance structures in its corporations. Many of China's largest firms are caught between market incentives and political pressures, creating a situation ripe for managerial inefficiency. This article examines the financial and regulatory structures necessary for an efficient corporate governance system to function in China, and it assesses how these structures currently operate in the economy. The article identifies key failures in fostering modern corporate governance practices, which in turn jeopardize central elements of the government's reform program. The article includes a case study of the governance practices of PetroChina Company Ltd, the internationally listed subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation. The success or failure of the government's efforts to create proper governance mechanisms will carry important economic and political ramifications for China. Indeed, the successful implementation of corporate governance reforms may mark the final stages of China's evolution into a market economy.     

治理视野下地方立法的发展方向与路径选择

从1970年代末开始的改革开放拉开了中国社会转型的序幕,政府主导的渐进式社会变革稳步推进;在改革进入深水区,利益调整更加纷繁复杂的情况下,地方立法在地方治理活动中扮演着越来越重要的角色。地方立法实践中面临着质量控制、民主参与、利益樊篱等问题,也受制于社会变革与中央立法整体进程。在坚持地方特色的基础上,地方立法应当坚持民主化与科学化发展方向,积极引领、规范地方治理工作,不断推进地方治理现代化。     

试论我国农村新型治理结构的重构

改革开放以来,农村所发生的经济、社会变迁推动着我国乡村治理结构的转型,也催生了村民自治这一新型的基层民主制度。在村民自治这一制度架构下,一种基于治理理念的新型农村社会治理模式成为可能,即以村民委员会民主选举制度为核心,以村务公开为制度保障,通过培育具有自主治理性质的乡村社团组织,发掘传统乡村社会的文化资源,将制度创新与本土资源的发掘结合起来。     

Women's Political Participation in China: in whose interests elections?

This article takes up the issue of women's political participation in village committees in China. Of interest is the decline in and continuing low level of women's political participation in village governance structures in the reform period, and particularly following the widespread introduction of competitive village elections since 1988. The dominant explanation given for women's numerical under-representation in village committees, and in politics more generally, focuses on women's lack of self-confidence, which inhibits them from standing as candidates, and on the enduring drag of ‘feudal’ attitudes, which construct women as inferior to men, and therefore not capable of leadership. These two factors combined have in turn a material effect, as son-preference advantages boys in access to basic schooling, who thus, particularly in poorer rural areas, end up with higher levels of education, and greater opportunities in waged employment. The common solution adopted by the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF), China's largest women's organisation, lies in a two-pronged attack: first in the ideological realm, targeting men and women's sexist attitudes and concomitantly promoting a discourse of equality, and second, in the material realm by raising women's skills. It is argued here that this dominant text on women's under-representation in village committees masks a more complex conjuncture of variables that shape women's position in local politics. Social practices, economic structures, institutional norms and procedures, and political culture all prey on, revitalise and reproduce gendered notions of the appropriate place of women and men in political life.     

The Impact of Competition and Labor Remuneration on Profitability in China's Industrial State-owned Enterprises

China's industrial state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have seen a secular decline in profitability throughout the reform period. Barry Naughton argues that this decline was in large part due to a decline in monopoly rents as competition with enterprises in other ownership forms increased. Fan Gang and Woo Wing-Thye, on the other hand, contend that profitability declined across all sectors independent of the degree of competition, and that excessive labor remuneration accounts for the broad decline in SOE profitability. Testing the two hypotheses with aggregate sectoral and provincial data from the mid-1980s to the late-1990s, neither appears convincing. Yet at closer inspection these are not competing hypotheses. The two causes affect overall profitability through different channels. Competition and labor remuneration have a highly significant impact on intermediate profitability measures that take the two channels into account separately. Together they explain most of the variation in overall profitability.     

WTO and China's Financial Services Sector

Financial services, particularly securities markets, insurance and commercial banking, have played a crucial role in China's post-1978 economic reforms. China has so far established a market structure and a legal framework, and has a growing understanding of how financial services operate in the modern world economy. We will review China's progress in financial services reforms over the last 22 years, describe the commitments China has made to gain WTO entrance, and then evaluate the potential benefits and costs to China's financial sector of WTO accession. We conclude that even with the substantial challenges presented by greatly increased post-WTO foreign competition, China will benefit from the WTO because of a number of factors including a growing pool of well-trained personnel, lessons learned from domestic and foreign development experiences, increasing Chinese economic strength, and continual advancement of China's financial infrastructure.     

撤镇设市:经济发达镇有效治理的逻辑

经济发达镇在法定职能范围内无法满足于现实经济发展、社会公共服务和管理的需要时,逐渐涌现的非制度化强镇扩权并不能从根本上解决这一问题。撤镇设市通过强镇行政级别的提升,实现权力、资源下沉以及政府行动空间合法性的获得,使得实质政府的有效治理成为可能。撤镇设市后,市级政府在法律依据和资源依托的归位前提下,治理实践呈现出差异性特征。研究发现:当下撤镇设市给构建国家治理体系和治理能力现代化带来了治理资源下沉、治理体系扁平化、政府机构简约化、区域协调治理等新机遇,为实现实质政府的职能归位必须坚持有效治理的持续性、服务性、协同性、公共性。