André Laliberté

Chinese political culture 1989-2000

Preface: Andrew Nathan Introduction: Some Paradigmatic Issues in the Study of Chinese Political Culture, Shiping Hua PART I: THE CHINESE CULTURAL TRADITION AND ITS MODERN FACE 1. Sage, Teacher, Businessman: Confucius as a Model Male, Kam Louie 2. The Changing Concept of Zhong (Loyalty): Emerging New Chinese Political Culture, Godwin Chu 3. New Confucianism: A Native Response to Western Philosophy, Roger Ames PART II: SOCIALIZATION: OFFICIAL IDEOLOGIES, LITERATURE, AND THE MEDIA 4. Still Building the Nation: Causes and Consequences of Chinas Patriotic Fervor, Edward Friedman 5. Curing the Sickness and Saving the Party: Neo-Maoism and Neo-Conservatism in the 1990s, Kalpana Misra 6. The Antipolitical Tendency in Contemporary Chinese Political Thinking, Peter Moody 7. Political Culture as Social Construction of Reality: A Case Study of Hong Kongs Images in Mainland China, Jonathan Jian-Hua Zhu and Huixin Ke PART III: COMPARATIVE POLITICAL CULTURE STUDIES: SOCIAL STRATA AND REGIONS 8. Diversification of Chinese Entrepreneurs and Cultural Pluralism in the Reform Era, Cheng Li 9. Provincial Identities and Political Cultures: Modernism, Traditionalism, Parochialism and Separatism, Alan P.L. Liu 10. Political Culture of Election in Taiwans and Chinas Minority Areas, Chih-yu Shih 11. Religion and Society in China and Taiwan, Wenfang Tang 12. Culture Shift and Regime Legitimacy: Comparing Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, Yunhan Chu and Yu-Tzung Chang

The growth of a Taiwanese Buddhist association in China: Soft power and institutional learning

This article looks at Ciji (Tzu Chi), a Taiwanese Buddhist charity which has been active in China since 1991. Ciji’s presence in China is all the more remarkable in view of outbreaks of crises in relations across the Taiwan Strait as well as the religious nature of the organization. The article first addresses the issue of Taiwan’s soft power in its relations with China and suggests the possibility that Ciji’s activities in Taiwan have shown China the benefits of a liberal policy towards religion in that charitable activities carried out by religious organizations complement the government’s social policies. The second section chronicles Ciji’s presence in China since 1991 and shows that local governments have their own reasons for welcoming Ciji’s volunteers. The third section compares and contrasts state approaches in China and Taiwan with respect to the provision of social services by religious organizations and notes that even if local governments in China are learning about the benefits of a more open policy in their dealings with Ciji, the central government has not adopted the liberal approach of the Taiwanese government in the regulation of religion.

Managing Religious Diversity in China Contradictions of Imperial and Foreign Legacies

In this essay I argue that despite the scope of change in the realms of military, security, economic, and social policies, as well as changes in the legal sphere, the path dependency left by the institutions of the previous imperial and republican regimes has influenced the current arrangements for the regulation of religion by the state in China. This state of affairs has less to do with something specific to Chinese culture and more to do with the particular institutional context of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). In the first section of this paper, I consider the influence of previous regimes’ institutions that is still felt in the current regulatory mechanisms for the control of religion. Then, in the second section, I explore the current approach to religious affairs, drawing attention to its quadripartite dimensions: political, legal, administrative, and managerial. In a third section I examine the nature of the challenges faced by the Communist Party of China, the legal and state apparatus of the PRC, and the religious institutions. The discussion uses evidence from fieldwork that I have undertaken over the space of ten years on the philanthropic activities of Buddhist institutions in China. I conclude by discussing the political obstacles that stand in the way of implementing a secular state in China that is genuinely pluralist and supportive of religious diversity.

Religion, Resistance, and Contentious Politics in China (中国的宗教、抵抗与抗争政治)

In this essay, I present the concepts of religious resistance and contentious politics, in which religions represent a source of inspiration, before moving to the issue of how these concepts apply to China. I note that there is little literature on this particular subject, which is always politically sensitive. As the Communist Party of China has increasingly recognized the relevance of religion in contemporary society, it has tried to keep it in check and thereby ensure that independent associations with a religious background will not become involved in contentious politics. This article then briefly introduces the four case studies in this special issue on the theme of religion and contentious politics in China: two cases of persecution of Christians and Catholics during the period of Mao, and two articles about Buddhism, which has a more complex relationship with the state.本文首先阐述了宗教抵抗与抗争政治的概念—其中宗教发挥了启发鼓舞的作用而后将之用于分析中国经验。由于政治敏感性，有关此议题的文献很少。因为逐渐意识到宗教在当代社会中的重要性，中国共产党试图管控宗教防止具有宗教背景的独立团体参与抗争政治。本文最后介绍本期中有关中国宗教与抗争政治的四篇个案研究：两篇文章讨论毛泽东时期对基督徒和天主教徒的压迫，另外两篇是关于佛教及其与国家的复杂关系。

Responses to Abuse Against Migrant Domestic Workers: A Multi-scalar Comparison of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Shanghai

This chapter offers a multi-scalar comparison of governments’ and private sectors’ responses to abuse against domestic migrant workers in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. The comparison aims to identify the optimum level of government intervention to efficiently prevent abuse against domestic migrant workers. Although the three locations have similar demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, the authorities examined here represent three different levels of government: national, semi-autonomous, and municipal. Based on fieldwork in these three locations, Laliberte presents the actors in government, domestic worker recruitment/placement agencies, and domestic workers’ rights advocacy organizations, and assesses their relative influence and resources and their ability and interest in promoting/guaranteeing and/or respecting the rights of domestic workers.

The Pluralization of the Religious Field in Taiwan and Its Impact on China

This chapter looks into exchanges between Chinese and Taiwanese scholars who specialize in religious studies and assesses the extent to which such interactions have had an effect on how Chinese officials approach religious affairs. It argues that the Chinese leadership sees the advantages of Taiwanese authorities’ prudent management of religious affairs for stable governance, but some fundamental differences in both polities make it difficult to achieve a wholesale adoption of Taiwan’s approach. Starting with an overview of the changes in relations between the political and the religious field in Taiwan, it then looks at the increased cross-Strait exchanges on religions, and underlines what Chinese officials have found useful in these interactions. Despite claims that a shared culture can overcome political disagreements and institutional differences, the focus on regime maintenance makes China resistant to adopt Taiwan’s approach to religion. As a result, China retrieves selectively from Taiwan what reinforces the existing political structure.

Democracy and identity conflicts in Asia: Identifying the issues for Canada and multilateral institutions

Outbreaks of violent conflicts linked with claims of ethnic, religious, and other cultural differences has drawn attention to a link between political and economic liberalization and the rise of ethnic conflict. Events in societies such as Sri Lanka and Indonesia suggest that, under certain circumstances, the process of democratization contributes to ethnic and nationalist conflict. This paper reflects upon the policy implications of recent scholarship on transitions from authoritarian rule, particularly in the culturally divided societies of East, South‐East, and South Asia. It aims to raise awareness of the dangerous tendency of Western governments and non‐governmental organizations to associate democratization mainly with the introduction of elections and the protection of individual civil and political rights, neglecting the legitimate grievances of minorities, aboriginal peoples, and other vulnerable communities that must be addressed if meaningful democratization is to succeed. Such a tendency is evident in international governmental and media focus on Burma, a multinational society with one of the most tragic and costly of the failed democratization processes in Asia.