Citizen movements and China's public intellectuals in the Hu-Wen era

Pacific Affairs

Volumn 79, Issue 2, 2006, Pages 183-204

  Kelly, David ^a  

^a NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE   (Singapore)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

CITIZENSHIP; INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS; MIGRANT WORKER; SOCIAL MOVEMENT;

ASIA; CHINA; EURASIA; FAR EAST;

EID: 33845635641     PISSN: 0030851X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.5509/2006792183     Document Type: Article

References (98)

1. These are the closing words of an article found on 10 June 2005 by a Google News search on the word gongminhua. See .
2. Left-liberal (social democratic) critiques of neoliberalism have come from Qin Hui and He Qinglian. See David Kelly, trans. and ed., "Mystery of the Chinese Economy," special issues of The Chinese Economy, 38:4, 5 and 6 (2005).
3. The new Left critique was opened by Wang Hui. See "The Historical Origin of Chinese 'Neoliberalism,'" The Chinese Economy, 36:4 (July-August 2003), pp. 3-42;
4. and China's New Order: Society, Politics and Economy in Transition, ed. Theodore Huters (Harvard University Press, 2003). In the course of a blistering campaign on corporate malfeasance that gathered steam in the summer of 2004, Liang Xianping (see below) attacked certain government policies, together with their proponents among Beijing's "establishment" economists as "neoliberal." At that very time the government was sponsoring widely publicized attacks on neoliberalism.
5. See He Bingmen, ed., Xin ziyouzhuyi pingxi [Critiques of Neoliberalism] (Beijing: Shehui kexue wenjian chubanshe, June 2004);
6. and Joseph Fewsmith, "China under Hu Jintao," Chinese Leadership Monitor no. 14 (Spring 2005), online at .
7. Timothy Brook and B. Michael Frolic, eds., Civil Society in China (Armonk: M.E. Sharpe, 1997).
8. This point is emphasized in); Merle Goldman and Elizabeth J. Perry, Changing Meanings of Citizenship in Modern China (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press), pp. 2-3.
9. Kevin O'Brien and Lianjiang Li, Rightful Resistance in Rural China (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006).
10. The work of Charles Taylor is instructive here; see his "Politics of Recognition," in Amy Gutman, ed., Multiculturalism (Princeton: Princeton University Press,.1994), pp. 25-74.
11. Recognition also figures largely in Francis Fukuyama, The End of History and the Last Man (New York: Free Press, 1992). Note that in Chinese "identity" is rendered as shenfen (personal status) or rentong. The latter is best translated as "recognition, acceptance" in many contexts.
12. Joshua A. Fogel and Peter G. Zarrow, eds., Imagining the People: Chinese Intellectuals and the Concept of Citizenship, 1890-1920 (Armonk: M.E. Sharpe, 1997);
13. Goldman and Perry, Changing Meanings of Citizenship in Modern China;
14. Dorothy Solinger, Contesting Citizenship in Urban China: Peasant Migrants, the State, and the Logic of the Market (University of California Press, 1999).
15. Also R. Bin Wong, "Citizenship in Chinese History," in Michael Hanagan and Charles Thilly, eds., Extending Citizenship, Reconfiguring States (Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield, 2000), pp. 97-122.
16. For example, Chen Yongsen, Gaobie chenmin de changshi [Attempted farewell subjecthood] (Beijing: Renmin University Press, 2004);
17. Zhang Jing, ed., Shenfen rentong yanjiu [Studies in status identity] (Shanghai: Shanghai Peoples Press, 2005).
18. See e.g., Constitution of the PRC, chapter II, "Fundamental Rights and Duties of Citizens," articles 33 to 56, available at .
19. Bryan S. Turner, "Contemporary Problems in the Theory of Citizenship," in Bryan S. Turner, ed., Citizenship and Social Theory (London: Sage Publications, 1993), pp. 1-19.
20. Bryan S. Turner, "Outline of the Theory of Human Rights," in Turner, Citizenship and Social Theory.
21. Cited with useful discussion in R. Bin Wong, (1999), "Citizenship in Chinese History," in Michael Hanagan and Charles Tilly, eds., Extending Citizenship, Reconfiguring States (Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield), pp. 97-122
22. O'Brien and Li, Rightful Resistance, p. 119: "Citizenship, in other words, excludes at the same time that it includes; it draws boundaries and ranks the populace."
23. Also Goldman and Perry, Changing Meanings of Citizenship in Modern China, p. 3.
24. He Baogang, "Village Citizenship in China: A Case Study of Zhejiang," Citizenship Studies, vol. 9, no. 2 (May 2005), pp. 205-219;
25. "Gongmin yu cunmin: shenfen dingyi de shuangchong jiegou" [Citizen and villager: dualism in status definition], in Zhang Jing, ed., Shenfen rentong yanjiu, pp. 147-196.
26. "Villagers, elections and citizenship," in Goldman and Perry, p. 228.
27. Qui Hui, "The Common Baseline of Modern Thought," in David Kelly, ed., 'The Mystery of the Chinese Economy: Selected Writings of Qin Hui,' The Chinese Economy, vol. 38, no. 4 (September 2005), pp. 12-22. See especially p. 14.
28. The "sorting out" (shuli) of housing in Shenzhen in 2004 is a case in point. See Liang Jing, "Shenzhen de'shuli xingdong'ling qiongren hechu anshen liming?" [Shenzhen's'sorting out moves'-Where can a poor man settles down in peace?], Xin Shiji [New Century] (Hong Kong), 28 August 2004, available at .
29. Under the 1982 Constitution, agricultural land may not be owned privately. Rural cultivators, through long-term contracts signed with locally constituted collective bodies, hold usage rights only to their land. However, the latter, who often are de facto creatures of the local Party leadership, may transfer land from this regime, effectively privatizing it. They do this by declaring, on grounds of national interest, a change to non-agricultural usage. Despite vigorous attempts by the centre to ensure that such recourse to "national interest" is strictly limited, abuses have been rife and accelerating, as land has steadily emerged as a rich source of revenue for local governments. This is explored in David Kelly and Luo Xiaopeng, "SARS and China's Rural Migrant Labour: Roots of a Governance Crisis," in Phua Kai Hong et al., eds., Population Dynamics and Infectious Diseases in Asia (Singapore: World Scientific Publishers, 2005);
30. and Peter Ho (Institutions in Transition: Land Ounership, Property Rights and Social Conflict in China, Oxford University Press, 2005).
31. See, in a large literature: Qin Ping, "Dearth of migrant workers is golden opportunity to strengthen mingong rights protection," 22 May 2005, available at ;
32. "'Migrant labour shortage' forces us to wake up," Changjiang ribao [Changjiang Daily], 9 March 2005, available at ;
33. "Facing the 'dearth of migrant workers': External workers must become genuine citizens!", Jinyang wang [Gold sheep net], 5 March 2005, available at ;
34. Zhang Dianchun, "The rights implications of 'fair treatment for mingong," Gongren ribao [Workers Daily], 27 June 2006, available at .
35. Qin Hui, "Polarisation is caused by inability to privatize land," address to China Economic Outlook Roundtable Conference, 21 January 2005. My translation, original text available at .
36. Zhai Jicheng, "Mingong huang: xiaoji kangyi de jiji yiyi" [Dearth of migrant workers: the positive meaning of negative resistance], in Ye Zi, ed., Cong jianfu dao fazhan [From burden reduction to development] (Beijing: Central Translation Press, 2006), pp. 186-199.
37. "China: migrant worker dies in custody," The Wire, 1 July 2003, available at .
38. See the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. "Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control" (Article 25 (1)). Discussed at .
39. Rebecca L.H. Chiu, "Commodification of Housing Provision in Urban China," in Peter Nan-Shong Lee and Carlos Wing-Hung Lo, Remaking China's Public Management (Westport: Quorum Books, 2000), pp. 97-113.
40. "China's GDP growth was 8 percent in 2002, of which the contribution of the real estate sector accounted for 1.85 percentage points." Quoted in Feng Jianhua, "Growth Despite Setbacks," Beijing Review, no. 10, 2004, available at .
41. Hua Xinmin, "Cong yuantou shang shouhu gongmin dichan caichan quan" [Defend citizen's real estate rights at the source] Nanfang Zhoumo [Southern Weekend], 2 September 2004, available at .
42. Luigi Tomba, "Residential Space and Collective Interest Formation in Beijing's Housing Disputes," China Quarterly, December 2005, pp. 934-50;
43. Benjamin L. Read, "Democratizing the neighborhood? New private housing and homeowner self-organization in urban China," The China Journal, issue 49 Uanuary 2003), pp. 31-59.
44. Zou Shubin, "Zhuzhai xiaoqu zhong de minzhu - chengshi yezhu weiquan de xinqi ji qi yingxiang" [Democracy in housing communities - Origins and influence of urban owner rights protection movements] in Tang Juan, ed., Zhongguo chengshi shequ yezhu weiyuanhui fazhan yanjiu [The development of homeowner committees in China's urban communities], papers for conference on "Autonomy in Urban Communities," Institute for Chinese Politics, Shenzhen University, August 2005.
45. Bryan Turner, "Theory of Citizenship."
46. Zou, "Zhuhai xiaoqu zhongde minzhu."
47. Jiangang Zhu, "Not against the state, just protecting the residents' interests: a Residents' movement in a Shanghai neighbourhood," Perspective, vol. 5 no. 3 (30 September 2004);
48. Zou, "Zhuhai xiaoqu zhongde minzhu." The recently published draft revisions to the Real Property Law (wuquanfa) strengthen the legitimacy of homeowners' committees by allowing them to lodge suits against opposing groups (property managers and developers) independently.
49. See Zhang Yuanzhong, "Xin fangdai zhengce yu 'wuquanfa' gei fangdichan qiye dailai shenme" [What the new home loan policies and Real Property Law mean for real estate firms], available at .
50. Hua Xinmin, "Defend citizen's real estate rights at the source."
51. Hua Xinmin, "Defend citizen's real estate rights at the source."
52. Guo Yukuan, "Jingzufang zhengce lishi yuanyuan ji qi zhixing xianzhuang diaocha" [Historical origins of the jingzufang policy and its present implementation] 4 September 2005, available at .
53. Min Xu, "Stocks or real estate for China's middle class?" Asia Times Online, 17 August 2005, available at ;
54. "Weak market cited in China mutual funds loss," Bloomberg News,30 August 2005, available at ;
55. and Yin Zhongyu, "Refinancing will hurt small investors," China Daily, 7 September 2005, available at .
56. Zhang Yizhen, "Dangqian Zhongguo shehui weiji de san da yinhuan" [Three hidden perils in contemporary China's social crisis], Wuyou zhi xiang [Utopia], 5 June 2005, available at .
57. Qin Hui, "Yao 'MBO,' bu yao 'MBO nian'" ['MBOs,' yes; 'year of the MBO,' no - some basic issues in property rights reform], in David Kelly editor, and Qin Hui, translator, "The Mystery of the Chinese Economy," special issue of The Chinese Economy, vol. 38, no. 5 (September-October 2005).
58. Lu Xinzhi, Lang xuanfeng [Lang Tempest] (Beijing: Chinese Society Press, 2005).
59. Li Jian and Wang Xiaowei, eds., Chulu: Lang Xianping yinbao 'Guoqi gaige' da bianlun [Solution: The great debate on 'SOE reform' detonated by Lang Xianping] (Beijing: Jingji ribao chubanshe, 2004).
60. See also Eva Cheng: "Sweeping privatisations spark criticism," Green Left Weekly, 16 March 2005, available at ;
61. Chi Hung Kwan: "The huge debate over privatization and MBOs - Can the drain on state-owned assets be justified?" China in Transition, 15 September 2004, available at .
62. Wang Heyan: "Private Investors Jailed in Shaanxi Oil Nationalisation Dispute," Caijing [Finance & Economics], 10 January 2006;
63. "Shaanxi minying shiyou shijian zuixin dongqing: minying touzizhe zaici jinjing shangsu" [Latest trends in the North Shaanxi privately operated petroleum scandal: private investors again petition in Beijing], Boxun (internet portal), 8 August 2005, available at .
64. "Lawyers call on association to investigate detention of Zhu Jiuhu", Virtual Academy, 8 August 2005, available at ;
65. "Shaanxi authorities release Zhu Jiuhu," CECC, 5 June 2006, available at .
66. "Knowledge workers able to contest citizenship claims" has been adopted as the working definition for the purposes of this article. For a more diversified discussion, see Timothy Cheek, "Xu Jilin and the Thought Work of China's Public Intellectuals," China Quarterly, 2006 (forthcoming).
67. The "new enlightenment" has been described by several authors including Wang Hui (see China's New Order: Society, Politics and Economy in Transition, ed. Theodore Huters (Harvard University Press, 2003)
68. and Xu Jilin, "The fate of enlightenment: twenty years in the Chinese intellectual sphere (1978-1998)," in Merle Goldman and Edward X. Gu, eds., Chinese Intellectuals Between State and Market (London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2004), pp. 183-203.
69. For an earlier treatment see David Kelly and Bill Brugger, Chinese Marxism in the Post Mao Era (Stanford University Press, 1991), ch. 5.
70. Starting with, Liu Junning, ed., Shichang jingji yu guojia guannian [Market logic and the concept of the state], Gonggong luncong [Res Publica book series no. 1] (Beijing: Sanlian chubanshe, 1995).
71. Fan Yafeng, "Weiquan zhengzhi lun" [The politics of rights defence ], Zhongdao Forum no. 4, available at .
72. Fan Yafeng, "The politics of rights defence."
73. Fan Yafeng, "The politics of rights defence";
74. also see Qiu Feng, "Xin minquan yundong: shuxie 'Zhongguoren de quanli" [New civil rights movement: writing "Chinese people's rights"], available at .
75. "Qin Hui, "3:23 Beida jiangyan: Zhongguo nongcun wenti," lecture at Beijing University, 23 March 2003, on China's rural problem;
76. Zhongguo nongcun wenti yanjiu zhongxin, 24 November 2003, available at .
77. Qin Hui, "Lun xiandai sixiang de gongtong dixian" (Tianyuanshi yu kuangxiangqu Hanwen ban xu) ["The Common Baseline of Modern Thought: Preface to the Korean edition of Pastoral and Rhapsodies], December 1999, available at .
78. As quoted in Qin Hui, "The Common Baseline of Modern Thought," op. cit.
79. Zhao Junchen, "Nongmin xiangshou gongmin daiyu shi hexic shehui buneng huibi de guanjian wenti," available at .
80. Barry Naughton, Growing out of the Plan: Chinese Economic Reform 1978-1993 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995).
81. David Kelly, "Chinese Marxism," in Antonio S. Cua, ed., The Encyclopedia of Chinese Philosophy (London and New York: Routledge, 2003), pp. 431-8.
82. More generally, see Joseph Fewsmith, China Since Tiananmen: The Politics of Transition (NY: Cambridge University Press, 2001).
83. I draw here on interviews with Wang Yi, public intellectual and legal scholar, conducted in Chengdu in January, 2005, and He Weifang in Beijing, in April 2006.
84. It goes without saying that the actual world of the law is often totally at odds with such idealized views. The fact that lawyers enjoy a bad - not to say horrendous - press in the West serves, however, to underline my point: citizens demand that the legal profession answer to their universal interests.
85. Carol Lee Hamrin and Timothy Cheek, eds., China's Establishment Intellectuals (Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1986), particularly the editors' introduction.
86. Kelly and Luo, "SARS and China's Rural Migrant Labour."
87. See 'Zhengfa xi' Yuesheng zhengtan zhuliu" ['Politics and law departments' leap up in political mainstream], available at .
88. On Zheng Enchong, see "Defenders of the Right to Housing: Zheng Enchong", Amnesty International, 5 June 2006, available at ;
89. on Gao and Lū, see Joseph Kahn, "Lawyer takes on China's 'unwinnable' cases," New York Times, 12 December 2005, available at ;
90. "Guangdong Public Security Bureau blames mass incidents on rights defender activities," Congressional Executive Committee on China, 9 June 2006, available at .
91. Zhang Rongxiang, "Will China's new regulation for lawyers restrict rights defence?" Voice of America, 18 May 2006, available at .
92. Zhang Rongxiang, "Will China's new regulation for lawyers restrict rights defence?"
93. T.H. Marshall, Citizenship and Social Class (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1950).
94. Goldman and Perry, Changing Meanings of Citizenship in Modern China, p. 2.
95. Thus Lang Xianping, the financial expert mentioned earlier, was, following his critiques of SOE reform policy, attacked for his Taiwanese origins and Western professional training.
96. "Yi wu suo you" [Nothing to my name], a song composed by the rock musician Cui Jian, was the anthem of the young people demonstrating for democratic reforms in the Tiananmen movement of 1989.
97. As expressed by a Central Party School sociologist: "In a society, it is relatively easy for barriers and conflicts to arise between the rich and the poor, while it is easy for middle-income earners to live in peace with either. Thus, if the proportion of middle-income earners is greater, tensions between rich poor may quite effectively be cushioned." Wu Zhongmin, "Yingdang wanzhengde lijie shehui gongzheng" [Social justice should be understood comprehensively], Zhongguo chengshi pinglun [China Urban Review], no. 1 (December 2005), pp. 26-31.
98. Goldman and Gu, Chinese Intellectuals Between State and Market.