Mass political culture in Beijing: Findings from two public opinion surveys

Asian Survey

Volumn 38, Issue 8, 1998, Pages 763-778

  Zhong, Yang ^a   Chen, Jie ^b   Scheb, John ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE   (United States)

^b OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

NATIONAL POLITICS; POLITICAL SYSTEM; PUBLIC SERVICE;

BEIJING; CHINA;

EID: 0032422797     PISSN: 00044687     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1525/as.1998.38.8.01p0378c     Document Type: Article

References (40)

1. For example, see William A. Welsh, ed., Survey Research and Public Attitudes in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union (New York: Pergamon Press, 1981); and James R. Millar, ed., Politics, Work, and Daily Life in the USSR: A Survey of Former Soviet Citizens (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987).
2. For example, see William A. Welsh, ed., Survey Research and Public Attitudes in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union (New York: Pergamon Press, 1981); and James R. Millar, ed., Politics, Work, and Daily Life in the USSR: A Survey of Former Soviet Citizens (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987).
3. Allan P. L. Liu, Mass Politics in the People's Republic: State and Society in Contemporary China (Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1996), p. 2.
4. For recent examples, see Andrew Nathan and Tianjian Shi, "Cultural Requisites for Democracy in China: Some Findings from a Survey," Daedalus 122:2 (1993), pp. 95-123; Melanie Manion, "The Electoral Connection in the Chinese Countryside," American Political Science Review (APSR) 90:4 (1996), pp. 736-48; and Kent Jennings, "Political Participation in the Chinese Countryside," APSR 91:2 (1997), pp. 361-72.
5. For recent examples, see Andrew Nathan and Tianjian Shi, "Cultural Requisites for Democracy in China: Some Findings from a Survey," Daedalus 122:2 (1993), pp. 95-123; Melanie Manion, "The Electoral Connection in the Chinese Countryside," American Political Science Review (APSR) 90:4 (1996), pp. 736-48; and Kent Jennings, "Political Participation in the Chinese Countryside," APSR 91:2 (1997), pp. 361-72.
6. For recent examples, see Andrew Nathan and Tianjian Shi, "Cultural Requisites for Democracy in China: Some Findings from a Survey," Daedalus 122:2 (1993), pp. 95-123; Melanie Manion, "The Electoral Connection in the Chinese Countryside," American Political Science Review (APSR) 90:4 (1996), pp. 736-48; and Kent Jennings, "Political Participation in the Chinese Countryside," APSR 91:2 (1997), pp. 361-72.
7. Tianjian Shi, Political Participation in Beijing (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1997).
8. See Allan Liu, Mass Politics in the People's Republic, pp. 1-32.
9. Doing a good survey in China depends heavily on having a reliable Chinese partner. Public Opinion Research Institute of the People's University in Beijing, which was set up in 1986 was the first of its kind established in the PRC and has done numerous surveys for both Chinese and foreign organizations.
10. In the 1995 survey, seven urban districts and rural counties were randomly chosen after the first stage of sampling. Five residential neighborhoods (juweihui) or villages (cunming weiyuanhui) were randomly chosen after the second stage of sampling. The third stage of random sampling produced a sample of 20 households from each of the five residential neighborhoods or villages of the seven urban districts or rural counties. One individual was randomly chosen from each household as the respondent at the final stage of sampling in our 1995 survey. The 1997 survey was conducted only in the eight urban districts of Beijing. Thirty-six residential neighborhoods (juweihui) were randomly chosen after the second stage of sampling. The second stage of random sampling produced a sample of 20 households from each of the 36 residential neighborhoods of the eight urban districts. One individual was randomly chosen from each household as the respondent at the final stage of sampling in our 1997 survey.
11. On the high response rate for surveys in China, see Tianjian Shi, Political Participation in Beijing, pp. 28-29.
12. See Jianhua Zhu, Xinshu Zhao, and Hairong Li, "Public Political Consciousness in China," Asian Survey 30:10 (October 1990), pp. 992-1006.
13. See James Townsend, Political Participation in Communist China (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1967), pp. 10-20.
14. Ibid.
15. For this perception, see Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, China Wakes: The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising Power (New York: Times Books, 1994); Arthur Lewis Rosenbaum, State and Society in China: The Consequences of Reform (Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1992), p. 19; and Jianhua Zhu, Xinshu Zhao, and Hairong Li, "Public Political Consciousness in China."
16. For this perception, see Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, China Wakes: The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising Power (New York: Times Books, 1994); Arthur Lewis Rosenbaum, State and Society in China: The Consequences of Reform (Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1992), p. 19; and Jianhua Zhu, Xinshu Zhao, and Hairong Li, "Public Political Consciousness in China."
17. For this perception, see Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, China Wakes: The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising Power (New York: Times Books, 1994); Arthur Lewis Rosenbaum, State and Society in China: The Consequences of Reform (Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1992), p. 19; and Jianhua Zhu, Xinshu Zhao, and Hairong Li, "Public Political Consciousness in China."
18. Even the former participants of the Tiananmen Square democracy movement have become pragmatic and materialistic. See the discussion "Tiananmen and China's Future: The View Five Years Later," Current History 93:584 (September 1994), p. 248.
19. Defining politics is a tricky issue, especially in the PRC. Political issues there may be divided into three categories: official political issues, unofficial political issues, and neutral political issues. Official political issues refer to the official party/government policies such as birth control policies and government policy on reforming the state sector. Unofficial political issues refer to the informal topics normally not covered and discussed by the official media such as political power struggles at high levels and corruption charges against high ranking government officials. Neutral political issues refer to some national events such as a severe flood in the south or successful completion of a highway or railway. Another term for politics in the PRC is "national affairs," which we used in our surveys too. Since we were not particularly interested in the content of politics, we did not define the term "politics" to our respondents.
20. Barbara Geddes and John Zaller, "Sources of Popular Support for Authoritarian Regimes," APSR 33 (1989), p. 320.
21. See Tianjin Shi, Political Participation in Beijing, p. 94.
22. See, for example, Gordon White, Riding the Tiger: The Politics of Economic Reform in Post-Mao China (Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1993); White, "Democratization and Economic Reform in China," Australian Journal of Chinese Affairs 31 (1994), pp. 73-92; and William Overholt, The Rise of China: How Economic Reform Is Creating a New Superpower (New York: W. W. Norton, 1993).
23. See, for example, Gordon White, Riding the Tiger: The Politics of Economic Reform in Post-Mao China (Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1993); White, "Democratization and Economic Reform in China," Australian Journal of Chinese Affairs 31 (1994), pp. 73-92; and William Overholt, The Rise of China: How Economic Reform Is Creating a New Superpower (New York: W. W. Norton, 1993).
24. See, for example, Gordon White, Riding the Tiger: The Politics of Economic Reform in Post-Mao China (Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1993); White, "Democratization and Economic Reform in China," Australian Journal of Chinese Affairs 31 (1994), pp. 73-92; and William Overholt, The Rise of China: How Economic Reform Is Creating a New Superpower (New York: W. W. Norton, 1993).
25. Merle Goldman, Sowing the Seeds of Democracy in China (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1994), p. 1.
26. See, for example, Dorothy J. Solinger, China's Transition from Socialism: Statist Legacies and Marketing Reforms, 1980-1990 (Armonk, N.Y.: M. E. Sharpe, 1993); and Vivienne Shue, "State Power and Social Organization in China," in State Power and Social Forces, ed. Joel S. Migdal, Atul Kohli, and Vivienne Shue (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994), pp. 65-88.
27. See, for example, Dorothy J. Solinger, China's Transition from Socialism: Statist Legacies and Marketing Reforms, 1980-1990 (Armonk, N.Y.: M. E. Sharpe, 1993); and Vivienne Shue, "State Power and Social Organization in China," in State Power and Social Forces, ed. Joel S. Migdal, Atul Kohli, and Vivienne Shue (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994), pp. 65-88.
28. For example, Samuel P. Huntington argues that Confucianism is either undemocratic or antidemocratic. See "Democracy's Third Wave," Journal of Democracy 2 (Spring 1991), p. 24.
29. Gabriel A. Almond and Sidney Verba, The Civic Culture: Political Attitudes and Democracy in Five Nations (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1963), p. 498.
30. James L. Gibson and Raymond M. Duch, "Emerging Democratic Values in Soviet Political Culture," in Public Opinion and Regime Change: The New Politics of Post-Soviet Societies, ed. Arthur H. Miller, William M. Reisinger, and Vicki L. Hesli (Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1993), p. 72.
31. See, for example, Lowell Dittmer, China Under Reform (Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1994), chapter 4; Heath Chamberplain, "On the Search for Civil Society in China," Modern China 19 (1993), pp. 199-215; and David Kelly and Baogang He, "Emergent Civil Society and the Intellectuals in China," in The Development of Civil Society in Communist Systems, ed. Robert Miller (Sydney: Allen and Unwin, 1992), pp. 24-39.
32. See, for example, Lowell Dittmer, China Under Reform (Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1994), chapter 4; Heath Chamberplain, "On the Search for Civil Society in China," Modern China 19 (1993), pp. 199-215; and David Kelly and Baogang He, "Emergent Civil Society and the Intellectuals in China," in The Development of Civil Society in Communist Systems, ed. Robert Miller (Sydney: Allen and Unwin, 1992), pp. 24-39.
33. See, for example, Lowell Dittmer, China Under Reform (Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1994), chapter 4; Heath Chamberplain, "On the Search for Civil Society in China," Modern China 19 (1993), pp. 199-215; and David Kelly and Baogang He, "Emergent Civil Society and the Intellectuals in China," in The Development of Civil Society in Communist Systems, ed. Robert Miller (Sydney: Allen and Unwin, 1992), pp. 24-39.
34. For a comprehensive study of legitimacy and legitimization in post-Mao China, see Yang Zhong, "Legitimacy Crisis and Legitimation in China," Journal of Contemporary Asia 26:2 (1996), pp. 201-20.
35. Robert Dahl, After the Revolution: Authority in a Good Society (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1990), p. 80.
36. See, for example, James L. Gibson and Raymond M. Duch, "Emerging Democratic Values in Soviet Political Culture"; and Raymond Duch, "Tolerating Economic Reform: Popular Support for Transition to Free Market in the Former Soviet Union," APSR 87 (1993), pp. 580-608.
37. See, for example, James L. Gibson and Raymond M. Duch, "Emerging Democratic Values in Soviet Political Culture"; and Raymond Duch, "Tolerating Economic Reform: Popular Support for Transition to Free Market in the Former Soviet Union," APSR 87 (1993), pp. 580-608.
38. J. C. B. Leung, "The Political Economy of Unemployment and Unemployment Insurance in the People's Republic of China," International Social Work 38 (1995), pp. 139-49; and Jie Chen and Peng Deng, China Since the Cultural Revolution: From Totalitarianism to Authoritarianism (Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1995).
39. J. C. B. Leung, "The Political Economy of Unemployment and Unemployment Insurance in the People's Republic of China," International Social Work 38 (1995), pp. 139-49; and Jie Chen and Peng Deng, China Since the Cultural Revolution: From Totalitarianism to Authoritarianism (Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1995).
40. Gallup Organization, "1997 Survey: The People's Republic of China: Consumer Attitudes & Lifestyle Trends," press release, October 27, 1997.