This article considers whether social organizations (SOs) in China have acquired more autonomy over time under the socialist market economy. To discern whether SOs are changing under the corporatist system, we use quantitative data analyses of a 2001 to 2004 survey of SOs in China. We find that the later the SOs were founded, the more autonomy they have and the more oriented they are to representing their constituents' interests. The data also verify that the later SOs were formed, the greater their desire for freedom from the party‐state. Furthermore, SOs that are more autonomous tend to be more critical of the SO management system, but this holds only for SOs founded before 2000. After 2001, no correlation occurs between autonomy and the expressed desire for more freedom.

In 1999

In recent years, the community development programme called 'Shequ Construction' has been making rapid progress in China. The discussion surrounding the programme focuses on how to adjust the relationship between the street offices (which fall under the jurisdiction of the government) and the shequ residents' committees (defined as the people's self-governing entity). The programme has also led the debate over the position and role of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the newly reconstructed shequ. While the party's Organization Department proposes the unification of the shequ party branches and shequ residents' committees, others maintain that the shequ party branch should be differentiated from the shequ residents' committee, which is still viewed as an agent of government. They say 'the greatest advantage of the CCP is that it is the embodiment of social power and it is not a non-socialist external force like the administrative organ'. Their proposal raises further questions: How should the party change its direction and guidance within the framework of the separation of government and society? Will this affect the party's ability to continue to provide society with effective 'guidance' and become representative of society? This paper will provide some clues to help answer these questions.