The Rising Associational Cooperation and the New Landscape of Civil Society in China

1. The Rising Associational Cooperation and the New Landscape of Civil Society in China Gao, Bingzhong gaobzh@pku.edu.cn

2. Three assessments • Chinese civil society is referred as individual organizations. • Chinese civil society is a modern, urban phenomenon. • Chinese civil society is anonymous.

3. Three questions • Can the concept of Chinese civil society be referred as collective or united organizations? And how? (vs. individual) • Can the concept of Chinese civil society be more inclusive, for example, including peasants, countryside, traditional ways of associating? (vs. modern, urban) • How can Chinese civil society be represented? (vs. anonymous )

4. Three cases:one in the countryside • A village festival, taken part in by associations of vicinage villages: Legitimizing each other’s associations by attending each other’s temple fairs. • Villages in Zhao County, Hebei Province. • Associations not registerred.

5. Performances of guest associations

6. Parade

7. Parade passing government office

8. The second case in the urban:“New Citizen Project”新公民计划 network • Narada Foundation, 南都公益基金会，private funds donated by businessmen. • Its “New Citizen Project”: For the compulsory education and citizenship of peasant workers’ children. • Associational cooperation based on a project and supported by a private foundation. • Cooperation involved dozens of organizations every year.

9. The Key leader • Mr. Xu, Yongguang，徐永光 A former high rank official of Communist Youth League, 共青团中央组织部长 The former CEO of Chinese Youth Development Foundation, and the father of Hope Project, He was on the list of Chinese practitioners who launched the third sector studies, The Vice President and General Secretary of Narada Foundation, President (Jan 17, 2011).

10. The third case:Event of Anti-dam in Nujiang • Nujiang in Yunnan, an international river, Salween in Burma • Nujiang Hydropower Project launched by a comapany jointly invested by Huadian Corporation and Yunnan Government, approved by the National Committee of Reform and Development of China

11. The first bay of Nujinag: Submersed or survived

12. Event of Anti-dam in Nujiang:Active associations and key leaders • Green Earth Volunteers，绿家园,汪永晨 • Green Watershed, 云南省大众流域管理研究与推广中心，于晓刚

13. Interview with Wang Yongchen

14. Interview with Yu Xiaogang and Yu Yin

15. Event of Anti-dam in Nujiang:Temporary result in 7 years • The ideas of environmental associations: An eco-river, natural river, free river. • Premier Wen Jiabao sighned three times to postpone the dam construction(2004, 2005, 2009)

16. From Individual to collective social phenomenon • Association is a collective phenomenon based on individual persons. • Associational cooperation is a collective phenomenon based on individual associations.

17. Chinese Civil Society: From Anonymous to Represented • We have country leaders, business leaders, but the society has been anonymous. • In some spheres, some people are recognized as representatives.

18. Nonprofit Sector: more inclusive • In general, many organizations have been excluded, such as lineage org, religious org • Chinese civil society should be more inclusive: villagers’ associations are practices on constitutional rights of citizens. • In fact, villagers got free earlier, may be more democratic after 20 years village election.

19. Trainings, conferences put them together,but we saw them take actions seperately. • We talk about them as a whole, but we have not seen them act as a collective or whole. • The study of associational cooperations will give us the opportunity.

20. Social Links and academic perspectives: Vertical and Horizontal • Vertical social links: Hierachical, subject, imperative, authoritative—We can see individual associations free from administration • Horizontal social links: freewill, equal, dialogue, negotiatory—We can see associational cooperation and civil society in China.