The China Quarterly - Current Issue

Volume 193

Sat, 01 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The China Quarterly, Volume 193

The China Quarterly is the leading scholarly journal in its field, covering all aspects of contemporary China including Taiwan. Its interdisciplinary approach covers a range of subjects including anthropology/sociology, literature and the arts, business/economics, geography, history, international affairs, law, and politics. Edited to rigorous standards by scholars of the highest repute, the journal publishes high-quality, authoritative research, keeping readers up to date with events in China. International in scholarship, The China Quarterly provides readers with historical perspectives, in-depth analyses, and a deeper understanding of China and Chinese culture. In addition to major articles and research reports, each issue contains a comprehensive Book Review section, and also a Quarterly Chronicle, which keeps readers informed of events in and affecting China. The China Quarterly is honouring the memory of Professor Elisabeth Croll with an Essay Competition .

Protest Leadership in Rural China

Research Articles
Lianjiang Li, Kevin J. O'brien,
The China Quarterly, Volume 193 , pp 1-23

Abstract
Rural protest leaders in China play a number of roles. Among others, they lead the charge, shape collective claims, recruit activists and mobilize the public, devise and orchestrate acts of contention, and organize cross-community efforts. Protest leaders emerge in two main ways. Long-standing public figures initiate popular action on their own or in response to requests from other villagers; and ordinary villagers evolve into protest leaders when efforts to seek redress for a personal grievance fail. Rural officials sometimes attempt to co-opt or buy off protest leaders, but more often turn to repression. Although cracking down may inhibit further contention, at other times it firms up the determination of protest leaders and makes them more prone to adopt confrontational tactics, partly by enhancing their popular support, partly by increasing the costs of withdrawal.

Reconsidering the Campaign to Suppress Counterrevolutionaries

Research Articles
Yang Kuisong,
The China Quarterly, Volume 193 , pp 102-121

Abstract
Power seized with violence has to be maintained with violence. This truth has been repeatedly proved in the course of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party. The suppression of the counterrevolutionary movement in the 1950 53 period was the first campaign launched by the PRC aimed at cleansing opposition elements. This article re-examines Mao Zedong's policies and practices, and the interaction between China's central and local authorities during the campaign. It assesses whether the campaign met its goals and its implications for the future use of suppression by the regime.

The 1967 Riots in Hong Kong: The Diplomatic and Domestic Fronts of the Colonial Governor

Research Articles
Ray Yep,
The China Quarterly, Volume 193 , pp 122-139

Abstract
This article examines the dynamics behind the Hong Kong colonial government's policy during the 1967 riots, a turning point in the colony's development. Starting as an industrial dispute, it soon erupted into a major crisis that prompted the British to consider evacuation from the territory. While the Governor, David Trench, was preoccupied with the colossal task of maintaining order on the domestic front, his success was heavily dependent on his progress on the His perception of British interests did not always resonate with the views of the British diplomats in China. This article argues that the prevalence of Trench's proposed policy of firm suppression of local communists over the accommodating approach, suggested by the British diplomats in Beijing, was a result of his success in persuading the officials in London of the greater utility of his proposal in preserving British interests. The limited options available to Britain and Trench's shrewdness in exploiting the sovereign's uncertainty over the future of China contributed to the Governor's success in swaying the opinions of officials in London.

Governance Reform towards “Serving Migrant Workers”: The Local Implementation of Central Government Regulations

Research Articles
Gloria Davies, Gaby Ramia,
The China Quarterly, Volume 193 , pp 140-149

Abstract
Using data from three provinces as part of a joint study by Monash University in Australia and China's Institute of Labour Science, an affiliate body of the national Ministry of Labour and Social Security, this article examines the extension of social rights and social security coverage to intra-national migrants in China as a public governance issue. More specifically, it analyses how central government regulations on improving the situation of migrant workers are being interpreted and implemented by local governments. In this regard, it offers a unique case study of difficulties encountered in the local implementation of policy directives issued by the central government.

China's 2004 Economic Census and 2006 Benchmark Revision of GDP Statistics: More Questions than Answers?

Research Articles
Carsten A. Holz,
The China Quarterly, Volume 193 , pp 150-163

Abstract
In 2006, China's National Bureau of Statistics undertook a benchmark revision of national income and product accounts statistics based on the findings of the 2004 economic census. The benchmark revision covers primarily the years 1993 2004 with revised economy-wide and sectoral output values. The new data have three implications. First, despite all the hype only a few years ago about data falsification by local statistical authorities in China, the 2004 economic census results validate the provincial aggregate output values and invalidate the centre's national ones. Second, at the national level, economy-wide as well as sectoral nominal values were revised but real growth rates of some sectors remained unchanged. That is not plausible, and implies that at least the secondary sector real growth rates are erroneous. And finally, the benchmark revision raises questions about the quality and meaning of a large body of official statistics. Ultimately, it casts doubt on the professionalism and sincerity of China's statistical authority.

Elisabeth Joan Croll, CMG, 1944–2007

Obituaries
Robert Ash,
The China Quarterly, Volume 193 , pp 164-170

Abstract

Managing Sino-American Crises: Case Studies and Analysis . Edited by Michael D. Swaine and Zhang Tuosheng. (with Danielle F. S. Cohen) Washington D.C.: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2006. xiv + 518 pp. $24.95. ISBN 978-0-87003-228-8

Book Reviews
Steven M. Goldstein,
The China Quarterly, Volume 193 , pp 172-173

Abstract

Redefining Nationalism in Modern China: Sino-American Relations and the Emergence of Chinese Public Opinion in the 21st Century . Simon Shen. Basingstoke, Hants: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. xiv + 293 pp. £55.00. ISBN 978-0-230-54939-5

Book Reviews
Yongnian Zheng,
The China Quarterly, Volume 193 , pp 173-175

Abstract

Assessing the Threat: The Chinese Military and Taiwan's Security . Edited by Michael D. Swaine, Andrew N. D. Yang and Evan S. Medeiros. Washington DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2007. xvi + 416 pp. $22.95. ISBN 978-0-87003-238-7

Book Reviews
Jean-Pierre Cabestan,
The China Quarterly, Volume 193 , pp 175-176

Abstract

Keeping Democracy at Bay: Hong Kong and the Challenge of Chinese Political Reform . Suzanne Pepper. Lanham, Boulder, New York, Toronto and Plymouth, UK: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2008. x + 448 pp. £26.00; €40.95. ISBN 978-0-7425-0877-4

Book Reviews
Jean-Philippe Béja,
The China Quarterly, Volume 193 , pp 176-178

Abstract

Taiwan's Statesman: Lee Teng-hui and Democracy in Asia . Richard C. Kagan. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2007. xii + 231 pp. $30.00. ISBN 978-1-59114-427-4

Book Reviews
J. Bruce Jacobs,
The China Quarterly, Volume 193 , pp 178-179

Abstract

Managing Business Disputes in Today's China: Duelling with Dragons . Edited by Michael J. Moser. Alphen aan den Rijn: Kluwer Law International, 2007. xxxiii + 319 pp. $150.00; €120.00. ISBN 90-411-2462-4

Book Reviews
Stanley Lubman,
The China Quarterly, Volume 193 , pp 180-181

Abstract

Courts and Criminal Justice in Contemporary China . Susan Trevaskes. Lanham, Boulder, New York, Toronto and Plymouth: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2007. xii + 227 pp. £17.99; €28.33. ISBN 978-0-7391-1988-4

Book Reviews
Jianfu Chen,
The China Quarterly, Volume 193 , pp 181-183

Abstract

From Underground to Independent: Alternative Film Culture in Contemporary China . Edited by Paul G. Pickowicz and Yingjin Zhang. Lanham, Boulder, New York, Toronto and Oxford: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2007. xii + 268 pp. $29.95. ISBN 978-0-7425-5438

Book Reviews
Yomi Braester,
The China Quarterly, Volume 193 , pp 183-185

Abstract

Playing to the World's Biggest Audience: The Globalisation of Chinese Film and TV . Michael Curtin. Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press, 2007. 289 pp. £14.95. ISBN 978-0-520-25134-2

Book Reviews
Matthew Clifton,
The China Quarterly, Volume 193 , pp 185-186

Abstract

Qigong Fever: Body, Science and Utopia in China . David A. Palmer. London: Hurst and Company, 2007. xii + 356 pp. £25.00. ISBN 1-85065-841-2

Book Reviews
Benjamin Penny,
The China Quarterly, Volume 193 , pp 186-187

Abstract

Transforming Emotions with Chinese Medicine: An Ethnographic Account from Contemporary China . Yanhua Zhang. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2007. xiv + 191 pp. $24.95. ISBN 978-0-7914-7000-8

Book Reviews
Bridie Andrews Minehan,
The China Quarterly, Volume 193 , pp 187-189

Abstract

Public Health in Asia and the Pacific: Historical and Comparative Perspectives . Edited by Milton J. Lewis and Kerrie L. Macpherson. London and New York: Routledge, 2008. xi + 320 pp. $75.00. ISBN 978-0-415-35962-7

Book Reviews
Shi-Yung Liu,
The China Quarterly, Volume 193 , pp 189-190

Abstract

Embodied Modernities: Corporeality, Representation, and Chinese Cultures . Edited by Fran Martin and Larissa Meinrich. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2006. x + 290 pp. $48.00. ISBN 0-8248-2963-8

Book Reviews
Harriet Evans,
The China Quarterly, Volume 193 , pp 190-192

Abstract

Re-envisioning the Chinese Revolution: The Politics and Poetics of Collective Memories in Reform China . Edited by Ching Kwan Lee and Guobin Yang. Stanford, CA: Stanford University, xi + 330 pp. $24.95. ISBN 978-0-8047-5853-6

Book Reviews
Felix Wemheuer,
The China Quarterly, Volume 193 , pp 193-194

Abstract

Empire, Nation and Beyond: Chinese History in Late Imperial and Modern Times: A Festschrift in Honor of Frederic Wakeman . Edited by Joseph W. Esherick, Wen-Hsin Yeh and Madeleine Zelin. Berkeley: University of California Institute of East Asian Studies, 2006. 323 pp. $25.00. ISBN 1-55729084-9

Book Reviews
Susanne Weigelin-Schwiedrzik,
The China Quarterly, Volume 193 , pp 194-197

Abstract

Revolution of the Heart: A Genealogy of Love in China, 1900–1950 . Haiyan Lee. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2007. x + 364 pp. $60.00. ISBN 0-8047-5417-9

Book Reviews
C. D. Alison Bailey,
The China Quarterly, Volume 193 , pp 197-198

Abstract

Refracted Modernity: Visual Culture and Identity in Colonial Taiwan . Edited by Yuko Kikuchi. University of Hawai'i Press, 2007. x + 285 pp. $60.00. ISBN 978-0-8248-3050-2

Book Reviews
Edward Vickers,
The China Quarterly, Volume 193 , pp 198-200

Abstract

Revolution in the Highlands: China's Jinggangshan Base Area . Stephen C. Averill. Lanham, MD.: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2006. xxxi + 451 pp. $76.00; £50.00. ISBN 978-0742528789

Book Reviews
Julia C. Strauss,
The China Quarterly, Volume 193 , pp 200-201

Abstract

China's Republic . Diana Lary. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007. xv + 225 pp. $75.00; £40.00. ISBN 978-0-521-60355-2

Book Reviews
Charles D. Musgrove,
The China Quarterly, Volume 193 , pp 201-203

Abstract

The Boxers, China, and the World . Edited by Robert Bickers and R. G. Tiedemann. Lanham, MD and Plymouth: Rowan and Littlefield, 2007. xxviii + 231 pp. $28.95. ISBN 0-7425-5395-7

Book Reviews
David D. Buck,
The China Quarterly, Volume 193 , pp 203-204

Abstract

Our History is Still Being Written: The Story of Three Chinese-Cuban Generals in the Cuban Revolution . Armando Choy, Gustavo Chui and Moisés Sío Wong. New York: Pathfinder, 2005. 216 pp. $20.00. ISBN 978-0873489782

Book Reviews
Yinghong Cheng,
The China Quarterly, Volume 193 , pp 205-206

Abstract

Books Received

Books Received

The China Quarterly, Volume 193 , pp 207-210

Abstract

Local Governments and the Suppression of Popular Resistance in China

Research Articles
Yongshun Cai,
The China Quarterly, Volume 193 , pp 24-42

Abstract
Local governments are responsible for dealing with many of the instances of resistance in China, and an important mode of response which they use is suppression. This article examines the rationale behind local governments' use of this mode of response. It shows that Chinese citizens who stage resistance are in a weak legal position because their actions often violate the law or government regulations. Given local governments' discretion in interpreting citizens' action, suppression becomes the option when concessions are difficult to make and citizen resistance threatens social stability, policy implementation or local officials' images. However, suppression has not stopped popular resistance, and it remains a channel through which citizens defend or pursue their legitimate rights in China.

Contributors

Miscellaneous

The China Quarterly, Volume 193 , pp 271-274

Abstract

Justice from Above or Below? Popular Strategies for Resolving Grievances in Rural China

Research Articles
Ethan Michelson,
The China Quarterly, Volume 193 , pp 43-64

Abstract
Research on rural conflict in China suggests that village leaders are sources of trouble and obstacles to justice and that aggrieved villagers have more trust in and receive more satisfactory redress from higher-level solutions than from local solutions. In contrast to this account of evidence presented in this article from a 2002 survey of almost 3,000 households supports an alternative theory of According to this latter theory, the social costs associated with appealing to higher authorities, including the legal system, for help with local disputes tend both to discourage the escalation of disputes and to produce relatively disappointing experiences and outcomes when such routes are taken. Survey respondents indicated that local solutions, often with the involvement of village leaders, were far more desirable and effective than higher-level solutions.

China's Emerging Credit Rating Industry: The Official Foundations of Private Authority

Research Articles
Scott Kennedy,
The China Quarterly, Volume 193 , pp 65-83

Abstract
Although China has had difficulty improving the performance of its banks and stock markets, it has struggled even more to develop a credit rating industry. Credit rating agencies (CRA), which provide bond ratings, are vital to financial markets in advanced capitalist countries, but China's credit rating companies are weak and have had little influence over the behaviour of those who issue or invest in bonds. Some argue that CRAs gain authority through their strong reputation in the eyes of market participants, but the experience of rating agencies in China supports evidence from elsewhere that their private authority is largely dependent on government mandate, a benefit China's CRAs have only recently begun to enjoy. Many private actors, from trade associations to charity groups, are struggling to gain public influence in China, but credit rating agencies may be the best barometer to measure the Chinese government's general stance towards private authority.

Making Sense of Participation: The Political Culture of Pro-democracy Demonstrators in Hong Kong

Research Articles
Francis L. F. Lee, Joseph M. Chan,
The China Quarterly, Volume 193 , pp 84-101

Abstract
A wave of large-scale demonstrations from 2003 to 2006 has given rise to a new pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong and raised important questions about the political activism of the Hong Kong public. This study aims at achieving a better understanding of the cultural underpinnings of Hong Kong people's protest participation (and non-participation). Following a tradition of constructivist analysis which sees culture as a set of shared and more or less structured ideas, symbols, feelings and common senses, this study examines how participants in the pro-democracy protests make sense of their experiences and the ongoing political and social changes in Hong Kong. It shows that the 1 July 2003 demonstration has indeed empowered many of its participants, but feelings of efficacy became more complicated and mixed as people continued to monitor changes in the political environment and interpret the actions of others. At the same time, beliefs and ideas that can be regarded as part of Hong Kong's culture of de-politicization remain prevalent among the protesters. The findings of the study allow us to understand why many Hong Kong people view protests as important means of public opinion expression and yet participate in them only occasionally.