Rightful Resistance in Rural China

O’Brien, Kevin J.; Li, Lianjiang

doi:10.1017/cbo9780511791086.002

Cited by 142 publications

(223 citation statements)

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“…A striking feature of the case-study literature is how local attempts to influence policy implementation, especially in rural areas can escalate, involving larger numbers of people in contentious discussions and in collective action, sometimes inside the boundaries of legality and sometimes transgressing them 26 . As O'Brien and Li observe, -Direct tactics can help a group of activists to expand their base by creating solidarity, forging a collective identity, and strengthening trust.‖ 27 We can test the…”

Section: Social Capital Are More Likely To Self-identify As Pollutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Profiling the Victims: public awareness of pollution-related harm in China

Munro¹

2013

Journal of Contemporary China

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This article aims to identify factors which influence public awareness of health or economic harm from pollution in China. Based on an analysis of the China General Social Survey (CGSS) carried out nationwide by Renmin University and HKUST in 2006, it focuses on awareness of pollutionrelated harm or self-identification as a pollution victim. The analysis tests three groups of hypotheses about how self-identified victims differ from others: first, in terms of the environmental conditions they experience, such as the actual level of pollution and types of neighbourhoods they inhabit; second, in terms of resources including material and information resources, time, social capital and political experience; and third, in terms of political attitudes. The conclusion discusses implications for the politics of public participation in environmental governance in China.

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Section: Social Capital Are More Likely To Self-identify As Pollutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Profiling the Victims: public awareness of pollution-related harm in China

Munro¹

2013

Journal of Contemporary China

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“…Repression precipitated tactical change, and physical evidence of disproportionate force gave the tent-sitters striking props that made their performances more moving. This is a reminder that a tendency toward tactical escalation in China that has been associated with failure, 80 defending one's honor in the face of non-responsiveness 81 and acclaim (or pressure) from followers, 82 can also spring from policing mistakes and popular reactions that increase the dramaturgical power of a performance and draw onlookers to a spectacle that the authorities and protesters have jointly created.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Repression Backfires: tactical radicalization and protest spectacle in rural China

O’Brien¹,

Deng²

2014

Journal of Contemporary China

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In spring 2005, villagers in Dongyang County, Zhejiang were unhappy. For four years, they had been complaining about pollution emitted by 13 factories located in the Zhuxi Chemical Park. But nothing had been done. So they set up a tent encampment to block delivery of supplies to the factories. At first, they employed restrained tactics, including going about daily life in the tents, badgering cadres sent to demobilize them, and kowtowing. After a harsh repression produced hundreds of injuries and left dozens of damaged vehicles and other evidence of police action strewn about, the tent-sitters switched to more aggressive tactics, including denouncing local leaders, carrying out mock funerals, interrogating factory owners, and ransacking homes of 'traitors'. The authorities' ill-considered and poorly-timed repression led to tactical escalation, helped draw thousands of people to the scene, and ultimately resulted in the chemical park being closed. This episode speaks to the 'dissent-repression nexus' and suggests that repression can be counterproductive when it encourages protesters to ratchet up their tactics and a 'protest spectacle' ensues. In today's China, striking displays and theatrical performances, especially in the wake of a crackdown, can attract an audience, bring in financial support and create a carnival-like atmosphere in which popular acclaim, the breakdown of social order and the inversion of power hierarchies grants protesters leverage and induces the authorities to make concessions.

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“…43 Engaging in mass demonstrations or public protests, villagers have become adept at using laws, rules and institutional mechanisms that the central government created and/or legitimated to express dissatisfaction with township governments. 44 Thus, villagers may petition to higher authorities if their township government levies a miscellaneous fee. Before the tax-for-fee reform, it was difficult for villagers to prove which fees were illegal and hence they often gave up using the petition system.…”

Section: Survival Strategies Of Township Governmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Survival Strategies of Township Governments in Rural China: from predatory taxation to land trade

Takeuchi¹

2013

Journal of Contemporary China

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Rightful Resistance in Rural China

Cited by 142 publications

References 0 publications

Profiling the Victims: public awareness of pollution-related harm in China

Profiling the Victims: public awareness of pollution-related harm in China

Repression Backfires: tactical radicalization and protest spectacle in rural China

Survival Strategies of Township Governments in Rural China: from predatory taxation to land trade

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