Chinese Foundations And Grassroots Social Organizations

The nonprofit sector in China (including nongovernmental organizations, foundations, and charities) is fairly new, especially to foreigners, since the rapid development of this "third sector" has not been widely studied in Western scholarship. The contributors to this volume have been engaged in research of China's nonprofit sector for many years, and are intimately familiar with the operation of Chinese nonprofit organizations. China's Nonprofit Sector describes the development of China's nonprofit sector since 1995, including discussions on the rise of corporate responsibility and charitable foundations, grassroots organizations, and the microphilanthropy that arose after the Sichuan earthquake in 2008. It enumerates the shifting legal framework, the complex relationship between government-affiliated and private sector organizations, the media's role, the emergence of microphilanthropy, and the lack of knowledge of the general public regarding philanthropic enterprises. This volume, in Transaction's Asian Studies series, directly addresses the topic of China's nonprofit sector and gives a coherent and comprehensive account of its development and challenges. This work will be of value for all policy specialists, Asian Studies scholars, and all individuals interested in China.

Based on documentary materials including interviews with key players in China, this book charts the development of non-governmental and non-profit organizations in China from the late 1970s to the present day. It recounts how in the aftermath of the 1978 reforms that created a market economy and diversified interests and social life, new institutions and organizations outside of the state system increased dramatically in number, size and influence. These organizations, which barely existed before the reforms began in the late 1970s, carry out many social, economic and cultural tasks neglected by the government. Qiusha Ma examines two key questions crucial to understanding the development of NGOs in China: First, is it possible under China’s one-party state for non-governmental organizations to thrive and play important economic, social and political functions? And secondly, are NGOs facilitating the formation of a civil society in China?

As China becomes increasingly integrated into the global system there will be continuing pressure to acknowledge and engage with non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Suffice to say, without a clear understanding of the state’s interaction with NGOs, and vice versa, any political, economic and social analysis of China will be incomplete. This book provides an urgent insight into contemporary state-NGO relations. It brings together the most recent research covering three broad themes, namely the conceptualizations and subsequent functions of NGOs; state-NGO engagement; and NGOs as a mediator between state and society in contemporary China. The book provides a future glimpse into the challenges of state-NGO interactions in China's rapidly developing regions, which will aid NGOs strategic planning in both the short- and long-term. In addition, it allows a measure of predictability in our assessment of Chinese NGOs behaviour, notably when they eventually move their areas of operation from the domestic sphere to an international one. The salient themes, concepts, theories and practice discussed in this book will be of acute interest to students, scholars and practitioners in development studies, public administration, and Chinese and Asian politics. Reza Hasmath is a Lecturer in Chinese Politics at the University of Oxford, UK, and an Associate Professor in Political Science at the University of Alberta, Canada. His research looks at state-society relationships, the labour market experiences of ethnic minorities, and development theories and practices. Jennifer Y.J. Hsu is an Assistant Professor in Political Science at the University of Alberta, Canada. Her recent publications include a co-authored book HIV/AIDS in China: The Economic and Social Determinants (Routledge, 2011), and a co-edited book The Chinese Corporatist State: Adaption, Survival and Resistance (Routledge, 2012).

This study explores how Chinese foundations interact with grassroots social organisations (SO) and why Chinese foundations act the way they do. In addition to involving well-documented empirical investigations in China, the study was conducted using anecdotal evidence accumulated over a 10-year period from 2008 to 2019, when Chinese foundations started their interaction with other SOs.The findings show that Chinese foundations interact with grassroots SOs in six different ways, namely special funds, joint fundraising, high-engagement grantmaking, and awarding grants to projects, organisations and individuals. However, Chinese foundations' grantmaking logic does not overlap with the needs of grassroots SOs, because they do not fully understand each other's difficulties and because their focus and development paths are not the same, which results in less interaction.This book provides new and inspiring insights for scholars and students of China's emerging and flourishing third sector. It will not only interest those in academia, but will also appeal to those working in China's third sector.

Drawing on the expertise of Chinese and Western academics and practitioners, the contributors to this volume aim to advance the understanding of philanthropy for health in China in the 20th century and to identify future challenges and opportunities. Considering government, NGO leaders, domestic philanthropists, and foreign foundations, the volume examines the historical roots and distinct stages of philanthropy and charity in China, the health challenges philanthropy must address, and the role of the Chinese government, including its support for Government Organized Non-Governmental Organizations (GONGOs). The editors discuss strategies and practices of international philanthropy for health; the role of philanthropy in China's evolving health system; and the prospects for philanthropy in a country beginning to engage with civil society.

This volume presents a comparison of the experiences of NGOs in China and Europe. The chapters on China contain the most comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of various types of NGOs currently active in the country. The contributions on foreign NGOs in China, non-governmental think tanks, public interest legal organizations, labour related NGOs and charity organizations, are the first in English to discuss successful experiences as well as the difficulties they face in the post-Mao era. The European studies draw examples from countries where the experiences of NGOs are at various stages of development. The section on NGOs in Central and Eastern Europe examines the rapid expansion of civil society and their pivotal role in promoting political change and building democracy in a transitional society, as well as the challenges they confront in advancing a strong civil society. Those chapters on NGOs' experiences in Western European countries, especially in the Netherlands and the UK, provide insightful information and examination of the most contentious issues concerning NGOs' accountability, governance and relationship with the government.

A scholar and activist tells the story of change makers operating within the Chinese Communist system, whose ideas of social action necessarily differ from those dominant in Western, liberal societies. The Chinese government has increased digital censorship under Xi Jinping. Why? Because online activism works; it is perceived as a threat in halls of power. In The Other Digital China, Jing Wang, a scholar at MIT and an activist in China, shatters the view that citizens of nonliberal societies are either brainwashed or complicit, either imprisoned for speaking out or paralyzed by fear. Instead, Wang shows the impact of a less confrontational kind of activism. Whereas Westerners tend to equate action with open criticism and street revolutions, Chinese activists are building an invisible and quiet coalition to bring incremental progress to their society. Many Chinese change makers practice nonconfrontational activism. They prefer to walk around obstacles rather than break through them, tactfully navigating between what is lawful and what is illegitimate. The Other Digital China describes this massive gray zone where NGOs, digital entrepreneurs, university students, IT companies like Tencent and Sina, and tech communities operate. They study the policy winds in Beijing, devising ways to press their case without antagonizing a regime where taboo terms fluctuate at different moments. What emerges is an ever-expanding networked activism on a grand scale. Under extreme ideological constraints, the majority of Chinese activists opt for neither revolution nor inertia. They share a mentality common in China: rules are meant to be bent, if not resisted.