The growing disconnect between China's market-oriented economy with its emerging civil society, and the brittle, anacronistic, and authoritarian state has given rise to intense discussion and debate about political reform, not only by Western observers, but also among Chinese intellectuals. While some expect China's political reform to lead to democratization, others have proposed to strengthen the institution of single-party rule and provide it with a solid legal base. This book brings the ongoing debate to life and explores the options for political reform. Offering the perspectives of both Western and Chinese scholars, it presents the controversial argument for building a consultive rule of law regime as an alternative to liberal democracy. It provides several critiques of this thesis, and then tests the thesis through empirical studies on the development of the rule of law in China.

In the 1990s China embarked on a series of political reforms intended to increase, however modestly, political participation to reduce the abuse of power by local officials. Although there was initial progress, these reforms have largely stalled and, in many cases, gone backward. If there were sufficient incentives to inaugurate reform, why wasn't there enough momentum to continue and deepen them? This book approaches this question by looking at a number of promising reforms, understanding the incentives of officials at different levels, and the way the Chinese Communist Party operates at the local level. The short answer is that the sort of reforms necessary to make local officials more responsible to the citizens they govern cut too deeply into the organizational structure of the party.

This is a comprehensive account of the Chinese debates on economic reforms, from the Third Plenum of 1978 to the crackdown of 1989. It is designed for scholars and graduate students interested in the political economy of China's reforms.

The growing disconnect between China's market-oriented economy with its emerging civil society, and the brittle, anacronistic, and authoritarian state has given rise to intense discussion and debate about political reform, not only by Western observers, but also among Chinese intellectuals. While some expect China's political reform to lead to democratization, others have proposed to strengthen the institution of single-party rule and provide it with a solid legal base. This book brings the ongoing debate to life and explores the options for political reform. Offering the perspectives of both Western and Chinese scholars, it presents the controversial argument for building a consultive rule of law regime as an alternative to liberal democracy. It provides several critiques of this thesis, and then tests the thesis through empirical studies on the development of the rule of law in China.

"Cover"--"Half Title"--"Title" -- "Copyright" -- "Contents" -- "List of Tables" -- "List of Figures" -- "List of Contributors" -- "Acknowledgements" -- "1 Foreword" -- "PART 1: ON DRAWING LESSONS, IN THE CONTEXT OF CHINA" -- "2 When all other Conditions are not Equal: The Context for Drawing Lessons" -- "3 The Context of Social Policy Reform in China: Theoretical, Comparative and Historical Perspectives" -- "4 The Policy Process in Contemporary China: Mechanisms of Politics and Government" -- "5 Paradigm Shifts in Social Welfare Policy Making in China: Struggling between Economic Efficiency and Social Equity" -- "PART 2: POLICY SECTORS UNDER SCRUTINY" -- "6 Policies Geared to Tackling Social Inequality and Poverty in China" -- "7 Reflections on Inequality and Poverty in China" -- "8 Labour Market Construction and Labour Mobility in Urban China" -- "9 The British Labour Market and Labour Market Policy in Comparative Perspective" -- "10 Pension Reform in China" -- "11 Reforming Pensions" -- "12 Financing Health Care in China's Cities: Balancing Needs and Entitlements" -- "13 China's Health Policy: A Comparative Footnote" -- "14 Progress and Problems of Urban Housing Reform" -- "15 Housing in China: A View from the West" -- "16 Women's Rights and Protection Policy in China: Achievements and Problems" -- "17 Women's Rights and Gender Issues" -- "18 Social Care and Voluntary Action in China: The Policy of 'Societalizing Social Welfare' and its Effects" -- "19 Voluntary Action, Social Care and Social Work: A UK Response" -- "20 Afterword Catherine

For this book, Émilie Frenkiel has been granted unprecedented access to the discussions of politically committed Chinese who have been part of the intellectual debate on post-Tiananmen reform.

Since the late 1970s China has undergone a great transformation, during which time the country has witnessed an outpouring of competing schools of thought. This book analyzes the major schools of political thought redefining China's transformation and the role Chinese thinkers are playing in the post-Mao era.

Will China become a multiparty democracy? The author posits that the more that Chinese elite thinking on China's development and change reconciles the tension between Chinese nationalism and collectivist, family-like ethics on the one hand, and the western democratic ideals based on each self-seeking individual's subjectivity on the other hand, the greater the chance that China's political development will lead to a multiparty democracy. The author projects that within the next twenty years China will march on the path of democratization.

This edited volume presents fresh empirical research on the emerging outcomes of China’s law reforms. The chapters examine China’s ‘going out’ policy by addressing the ways in which the underpinning legal reforms enable China to pursue its core interests and broad international responsibilities as a rising power. The contributors consider China’s civil and commercial law reforms against the economic backdrop of an outflow of Chinese capital into strategic assets outside her own borders. This movement of capital has become an intriguing phenomenon for both ongoing economic reform and its largely unheralded underpinning law reforms. The contributors ask probing questions about doing business with China and highlight the astonishing escalation of China’s outbound foreign direct investment (OFDI). Law and Policy for China's Market Socialism includes contributions from leading China-law scholars and specialist practitioners from the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries who all extend the examination of powerful influences on China’s law reforms into new areas. Given the forecast for the growth of China’s domestic market, those wishing to gain a better understanding and seeking success in the world's most dynamic marketplace will benefit greatly from reading this book. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in Chinese economics and business, Chinese Law, Chinese politics and commercial law.