Xiaoyuan Shang

Social Security Reform in China’s Transition to a Market Economy

This paper begins by describing the origins of a social security system that was based on a series of institutional splits that resulted in the development of a fragmented system characterized by inequity and incomplete coverage. The entitlements embedded in this system have proved difficult to revise in the light of changing circumstances and the pressures associated with economic transition, demographic change and the newly emerging problems of open unemployment and urban poverty. These developments, particularly the latter, are creating new demands on a system already struggling to adjust to structural problems of coverage and financial soundness. A series of extensive reforms in the areas of pensions and unemployment insurance and a rationalization of administrative arrangements and responsibilities have been introduced over the last two decades, but further reform seems inevitable as external pressures and policy priorities change. A key goal of the reform process has been to transfer responsibility for social security from enterprises to the state, but the system still suffers from a series of serious financial problems. Despite the extensive reforms that have already been introduced, these problems and the structural imbalances underlying them will require further action. The most important of these imbalances relate to the split between the nature and role of social security in the urban and rural sectors, the role of the commercial provision and its relationship with the state, and the extension of programmes aimed at poverty alleviation.

Welfare Provision for Vulnerable Children: The Missing Role of the State

This article examines the situation of non-governmental childrens welfare institutions based on field investigation in China. The research finds that Chinas market-oriented reforms have created both the demand for and the resources required to meet the welfare needs of vulnerable children. The new private non-profit sector responds to the social demand of providing services to vulnerable children by mobilizing non-government resources whilst actively looking for new ways of co-operating with the state and fighting for legal status. However the Chinese state hesitates to establish formal relations with the new non-government sector owing to political or economic considerations, or the lack of necessary capacity and experience in the field. A major policy break-through is urgently needed to address the welfare needs of vulnerable children in China. The aim of this policy change must be to establish formal relations between the state and civil society and to define the regulatory role of the state in social welfare.

Changing Approaches of Social Protection: Social Assistance Reform in Urban China

The article will examine the latest development of Chinas urban social assistance reform. Under the impact of the dual processes of globalisation and the deepening market transition, Chinas social security reform is increasingly taking a new safety net approach to assist the urban poor, instead of relying mainly on social insurance provision. The minimum living security project for urban residents is one of the approaches supplementing social insurance in social protection. In 2002, about one-third of social security beneficiaries were supported by the newly developed social assistance project. The changing approach does not mean that the government is withdrawing from its responsibility for social insurance to the urban workers, but reflects the changing goals and means of social policies. This indicates that Chinas social welfare system is shifting towards a new residual welfare model.

Missing Elements of a Child Protection System in China: The Case of LX

Many of the systems which had protected vulnerable children in China have broken down, but China has not developed a modern child protection system. We present initial findings from a project which investigates responses to child abuse and the potential for developing a comprehensive protection process. The research found that physical chastisement is commonly practised. Other forms of maltreatment tend to be denied. There are no mechanisms to report abuse and no organisation taking a lead in child protection. Furthermore, there is great reluctance by professionals and the public to identify or report child abuse and neglect.

Bridging the Gap between Planned and Market Economies: Employment policies for people with disabilities in two Chinese cities

From 1978 on wards, China has experienced a radical transition from a centrally-controlled planned economy to a market economy. At the same time, the Chinese economy is developing at high speed. This dynamic situation poses numerous opportunities and challenges to people with disabilities in China. The research finds that, with the help of governments employment policies, disabled people in two Chinese cities have benefited from both the market reforms and high speed economic growth. The Chinese government did not simply throw away the previous institutional arrangements and withdraw from its responsibility for supporting people with disabilities. In contrast, it adjusted the previous policies in order to mobilise resources from the newly-developing market economy. However, the policies have their limitations. They are temporary in nature and suitable for the transitional period only. There are potential problems and challenges ahead for disabled people in a fully fledged market economy in China.

Access to health and therapy services for families of children with disabilities in China

Abstract Purpose: China has more than five million children with disabilities. According to national statistics, most of them (63%) do not receive the health and therapy services they need, which threatens their lives, wellbeing and opportunities in adult life. Method: The article applies mixed methods (secondary data analysis and case study interviews) to analyse the efforts of families of children with disabilities to obtain health and therapy services to understand why most children do not receive the support they need. Results: The findings are that reasons include poor information, shortage of services and affordability. While these reasons are common across China, the local context, such as resources and social policy implementation, affect the degree to which families obtain the support they need. Conclusions: These circumstances will not change until local communities and government policies at all levels prioritise policy implementation to fulfil the rights of children with disabilities in China. Implications for Rehabilitation Most children with disabilities in China do not receive the health and therapy support they need. Access to support is hampered by poor information, shortage of services and affordability, which are accentuated by local resources and local policy implementation. Central and provincial government resource allocation and local government policy commitment to implementation are critical to children receiving the support they need in their local communities.

Missing Elements in the Protection of Children: Three Cases from China

ABSTRACT. The article analyzes 3 severe cases of child abuse that were widely discussed in the mass media in China in 2007 based on a framework used by the International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect in its official publication World Perspectives on Child Abuse. The framework sets out the basic elements that must be included in systems of child protection: a) a responsible government or government-authorized organization; b) a set of institutional arrangements for reporting cases of child abuse, investigation, and intervening when necessary; and c) state guardianship or mechanisms to remove children from their parents’ care when necessary. By applying the framework to the 3 cases under analysis, the authors found that these basic elements are missing from the Chinese child protection system, and therefore, they recommend that a reform of the system to address these elements should be a priority for Chinese social policy. The article makes a number of recommendations for reform.

Informal Kinship Care of Orphans in Rural China

This study examines kinship care of orphans throughout China. It finds that in addition to children becoming orphaned if both parents die, some children are treated as orphans when their father dies and rural traditional kinship care obligations restrict the viability of widowed mothers continuing to care for their child. When mothers are forced for socioeconomic reasons to leave the paternal extended family, children effectively become orphans, dependent on ageing grandparents. Girls and disabled children are most at risk. Implementing financial and other support to orphans, widowed mothers and kinship carers could improve the sustainability of these family relationships.

The Changing Role of the State in Child Protection: The Case of Nanchang

This article examines the state’s changing role in welfare provision to vulnerable children in a Chinese city and identifies three historical periods: a precommunist period, in which the private sector was the backbone of welfare provision for children; an early period in the communist regime, when the state monopolized welfare provision for children; and a posttransition period, in which state institutional care is increasingly replaced by family care and the role of charity is increasing. China’s shift in welfare policy is toward a new model that emphasizes partnerships among the state, families, nongovernmental agencies, and other constituents of civil society.

Gender, Social Policy and Older Women with Disabilities in Rural China

The gendered experiences of inequality of older people with disabilities1 in rural communities exemplify the effect on families of the rudimentary ageing and disability support systems in China.2 This chapter examines inequality related to disability within a Confucian cultural context from a social policy perspective. It investigates the experiences of older people with disabilities in rural communities by analysing a national dataset about people with disabilities and interviews with older women with disabilities in rural communities.