China: social organizations facing the State

 

Civil society in China, sometimes called "third sector", are a vast and complex evolving whole. Composed of heterogeneous entities, the range goes from satellite organizations of the CCP to other truly grassroots, through various socio-professional associations, in relation to both the public sector or the private sector. Therefore, it is not surprising that the use of the term "civil society" in China has been controversial for a long time, the only point of convergence is the recognition of the designation of the loans from the Western, such as NGOs , which spread in a context of globalization. But despite the different interpretations, the concept is increasingly used in China, such as NGOs, to reflect social changes in the last thirty years. This suggests the relationship between state and society in the era of market economy with the coexistence of cooperation, competition and even confrontation, and shared responsibility. From this perspective, the question about the meaning to be given to the term "civil society" in China will require a questioning of the process of social democratization.

November 2009.

Chen Lichuan, journalist, columnist of the journal Transcultural Dialogue (China), director of the Association Culturemedia (France), director of the Institute for research and debate on governance (IRG-France).

You can read the full article in french here.

You can download the file in pdf here (fr).

You can watch the video about social leaders training in China here.