Bureaucratic capacity and state-society relations in China

Huang, Yanzhong; Yang, Dali L.

doi:10.1007/bf02876928

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…In comparison, China's rigid social control helped the government enforce community lockdown in most parts of Hubei Province and stringent social distancing in other parts of the country. The skewed state-society relationship formed since the foundation of the PRC has been characterized by the remarkable obedience of a cooperative citizenry showing high degree of social discipline (Huang and Yang 2002). Collectivist values strengthened by communist ideologies inherently require citizens to exercise self-restraint when individual interests clash with collective interests.…”

Section: Mobilizing Resourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crisis governance, Chinese style: distinctive features of China’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic

Yu-da

Liu

2020

Policy Design and Practice

113

102

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Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) epidemic in Wuhan, China has remained under the international spotlight. Despite hostile sentiments toward the country that are still prevalent in many parts of the world, it is clear that China has managed to contain this unprecedented public health crisis reasonably swiftly since the lockdown of Wuhan. What accounts for this "success"? What are the experience and lessons that can be learnt by the international community and policy practitioners? This study seeks to reveal China's highly distinctive style of crisis governance behind its pandemic containment outcome since February 2020. We analyze how the Chinese government was able to mobilize the entire state machinery and all possible resources in this battle. Focus is given to the distinctive features at institutional, strategic, and operational levels, illustrating the country's style of crisis governance while also drawing necessary caveats.

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Section: Mobilizing Resourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crisis governance, Chinese style: distinctive features of China’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic

Yu-da

Liu

2020

Policy Design and Practice

113

102

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“…In their cross-province study of the organization and administration of population control policies, for example, Y. Huang and Yang (2002) found that the shift to more professionalized and noncoercive institutions was driven by public demands: "Concerned about the legitimacy problem, there was a perceived political need to shift the contentious issue from the political arena to the administrative 'neutral' zone" (p. 30). Likewise, the introduction of village elections in 1989, even amidst the grim structural conditions of post-Tiananmen China, was motivated by what Kelliher (1997) calls "a political crisis in the countryside."…”

Section: Explaining Contained Institutional Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Legitimacy and Institutional Change

Gilley

2007

Comparative Political Studies

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What explains the nature of institutional change in post-1989 China? Dominant theories of institutional change focus on economic-rationalist, sociopolitical, or historical causes. Yet they have trouble explaining the pattern of institutional change in China. An alternative legitimacy-based perspective is proposed here that provides a more parsimonious and general theory of institutional change for China and potentially for other cases as well.

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“…Chinese society is characterised by remarkable civic obedience and a high degree of social discipline, according to some studies [ 32 ]. Citizens are required to exercise restraint when individual interests conflict with collective interests [ 33 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why elderly in rural China didn’t wear masks during the COVID-19 pandemic? A qualitative narrative interview study

Liu,

Huang

2023

BMC Public Health

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Background During the COVID-19 pandemic, ageism and stigmatization towards the elderly have been prominent issues. In addition, there have been debates on Chinese social media as to why elderly people in rural areas are not wearing masks. While some factors that affect the mask-wearing behaviour of the elderly have been analyzed, little attention has been given to the lived experiences and behavioral intentions of rural elderly people who choose not to wear masks, despite government mandates to do so. Method In this research, 50 semi-structured interviews with 30 elderly individuals in three Chinese villages were carried out using the qualitative method of semi-structured interviews. Following verbatim recording and transcription of the conversations, the subject was analyzed using the Theory of Reasoned Action. Results We identified four factors that influence the non-masking behaviour of rural elderly, including past experiences, cultural concepts, cognitive attitudes, and health and safety anxiety, and identified nine sub-themes based on the four overarching themes. Past knowledge, experience, and history have led rural elderly people to distrust the government's mandatory “mask mandate,” believing that they do not need to wear masks. Rural cultural concepts and habits make the elderly feel that masks not only fail to provide protection but also become obstacles, resulting in poor daily experiences. Cognitive attitudes and emotions determine the elderly's evaluation of masks, which in turn affects their use of masks. Finally, elderly individuals’chronic diseases directly affect the physical pain and life safety caused by their use of masks, which is a major objective factor for their non-masking. Conclusions Although numerous studies have concluded that Chinese people wore masks out of collectivism and conformity during the pandemic, marginalized groups' opposition to wearing masks also contains distinctive, individualized elements and underlying causes. By exposing these elements and reasons, we can better comprehend the peculiar behavior of particular groups while fighting the pandemic. The needs of marginalized populations should be prioritized by public health policy makers to provide more equitable services.

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Bureaucratic capacity and state-society relations in China

Cited by 8 publications

References 20 publications

Crisis governance, Chinese style: distinctive features of China’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic

Crisis governance, Chinese style: distinctive features of China’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic

Legitimacy and Institutional Change

Why elderly in rural China didn’t wear masks during the COVID-19 pandemic? A qualitative narrative interview study

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