Through the Lens of Heritage Conservation
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Department of Town and Regional Planning University of Sheffield Dilemmas of Change in Chinese Local Governance: Through the Lens of Heritage Conservation Zifei Cheng A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) April, 2015 Acknowledgement Foremost, I would like to express my special appreciation and thanks to my supervisors Prof. Hendrik Wagenaar and Dr. Malcolm Tait for being constant sources of encouragement, inspiration and wisdom. It has been an honour to work with you on this thesis. I appreciate all your contributions of time and ideas to make my Ph.D experience productive and stimulating. Thanks are due to all my friends who accompanied me in Sheffield and those who consoled me in China throughout the highs and the lows of the last three years. I owe you big thanks for your generous support, encouragement and accompany, which sustained me thus far. My time at Sheffield was made enjoyable in large part due to the many friends that became an important part of my life. I am grateful for time spent with colleagues, roommates and friends, for our memorable trips to the Europe, into the mountains and rivers. Thanks to all staff and PhD researchers at the Department of Town and Regional Planning for the fellowship over the years. Thank you all for insightful questions and helpful discussions during tough times in the study. Lastly, all the love in the world and thanks must go to my parents. Words cannot express how grateful I am to my beloved family. You have been a source of love and energy ever. Without your constant support and encouragement I would not have been able to start my PhD study and finish this thesis. Abstract The past few decades have seen significant changes and transformations in China, from the ideological, political, legal, social and economic perspectives. These changes lead to the argument that the regime in China now can be labeled as a developmental authoritarian state, which has seen a gradual opening-up of the space for associational life. In this context, in the face of rapid economic development and massive construction, local developments have witnessed a conflict between preserving the past for its intrinsic value and the need for change. In particular, there are different actors involved in heritage conservation, including the local government, the developer, specialists, the media and ordinary people. Since the notion of “a deliberative democracy” was made prominent by the Chinese government, there is a dilemma between the pursuit of economic development and the call for a democratic process in decision-making in heritage conservation. Thus, to follow this from one small clue, heritage conservation becomes a window to look into Chinese local governance. However, little research has been done on power structures within heritage conservation and how different forces interact and negotiate in transitional economies at the local level in China. Using the grounded theory method (Charmaz, 2006), the research aims to explore the dilemmas of changes in Chinese local governance through the lens of heritage conservation and to investigate the interactions between key players in the society. Based on the theoretical framework of networked governance by Bevir and Rhodes (2012) and their interpretive analysis, this study “decentres” the local governance in heritage conservation, providing the different narratives of the local government, specialists, the media and ordinary people, as well as their interactions. A comparative study between an urban and a rural case is conducted using a combination of qualitative research methods, including text analysis, in-depth interviews and participant observation. The study indicates that, facing the dilemmas of heritage conservation and local development, local governments employ different governing approaches, such as “public participation under government leadership”, “the rule of law” and “ideological cultivation”. I argue that local governments in China re-adapt the traditions in current local governance as a response to the dilemmas. In the city, there is an increasing importance of business enterprises and entrepreneurial elite in local policy and decision making. China’s urban governance thus features entrepreneurialism which shares both commonalities with and differences from its western counterparts. It is characterized by market regulation and official-businessperson collusion, and centred on land speculation in implementing entrepreneurialism. However, in the countryside, rural governance experiences a combination of changes and traditions: a formal institutional authority of the grassroots self-governance system and an informal form of authority generated under the influence of inclusive social and kinship ties. I suggest that local China is now experiencing the “authoritarian deliberation” put forward by He and Warren (2009), which is inherited from the governing traditions and is reinforced by continuing social and economic development. This study opens up a new discussion on how democracy survives under rapid economic development in China. This study also contributes to the knowledge of changes in Chinese local governance and the interpretations of different actors. As an empirical study using “decentring” approach, this study explores local governance from different perspectives, which emphasizes the traditions, dilemmas and networks in governance theory. I A NOTE ON TRANSLATION, NAMES, AND CURRENCY EXCHANGE RATES All translations are by the author unless otherwise noted. Pinyin is used for the transliteration of Chinese names and terms. Chinese names appear in Chinese form, with surname preceding given name. At the time of this study, one Great Britain Pound was worth about 10 Chinese yuan (RMB). II List of tables and figures Tables Table 3-1 - Mechanism of public participation in urban planning Table 6-1 ACWC: timetable (February 2012 to November 2012) of the decision-making process Table 6-2 WSTK: timetable (February 2012 to November 2012) of the decision-making process Table 6-3 Differences between villagers’ committee and residents’ committee Table 7-1 Internet growth: number of online users and its prevalence Table 9-1 Government tactics in two cases Figures Figure 1-1 World Heritage Sites in China (2002) Figure 3-1 Legislative system in heritage conservation in China Figure 5-1 The memo of “employing ambiguity and elasticity of laws and regulations” Figure 5-2: Memo comparing Figure 5-3 Process of data analysis Figure 5-4 The opening paragraph from the memo of “government-citizens relations” Figure 6-1 Changsha’s location and its surrounding Figure 6-2 Plan of Changsha as a Famous Historical and Cultural City Figure 6-3 ACWC in the site of Wanda project Figure 6-4 The village of Datang and the location of WSTK Figure 6-5 China’s electoral system since 1979 Figure 7-1 The official website of Changsha municipal people’s government Figure 8-1 A picture showing that the journalist was stopped by someone when taking pictures III List of abbreviations and acronyms ACWC Ancient City Walls in Changsha ALL Administrative Litigation Law CCP Chinese Communist Party CNNIC China Internet Network Information Centre CPPCC Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference NPC National People’ Congress NPCSC Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress TVEs Township-village Enterprises UNESCO the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization WSTK Wang Shan Tu Ku IV List of laws, regulations and government documents 1930 Law on the Preservation of Ancient Objects 1931 Statute for the Preservation of Scenic Spots, Points of Historical Importance, and Articles of Historical, Cultural, and Artistic Value 1961 Provisional Regulations on the Protection and Administration of Cultural Relics 1979 Law of Elections in the People’s Republic of China 1981 Application for Protecting Historical and Cultural Cities in the Country 1982 Constitution of the People’s Republic of China 1982 Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Cultural Relics 1983 Notices on Improving Political Ideological Work in Rural Areas by CCP and Central Government 1983 Organic Law of the People's Courts of the People's Republic of China 1983 Some Ideas on Promoting the Protection of Historical and Cultural Cities 1986 Regulations on Protection of Cultural Relics in Hunan Province 1988 Land Management Law 1989 Administrative Litigation Law 1989 Law of the People’s Republic of China in Assembly and Demonstration 1989 Organic Law of the Residents’ Committee 1991 Administrative Regulation on Publishing 1991 Working Procedure of Administrative Decision of House Removal 1991 Civil Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China 1991 Provisional Regulations on the Conveyance, Granting and Transferring of the State Land’s Use rights in Cities and Towns 1995 Urban Real Estate Administration Law of the People’s Republic of China 1997 Administrative Regulations on Electronic Publications 1998 Organic Law of the Villagers’ Committees V 2003 Plan of Construction and Redevelopment of the Village of Wang Shan and Plan of Wang Shan Tu Ku as Tourists’ Attraction 2004 Regulations on Famous Historical and Cultural City of Changsha 2005 CCP’s Opinions on Further Improving the Multiparty Cooperation and Political Deliberation System under the Leadership of the Party 2005 Important Decisions by the Central Committee of the Communist Party on Major Issues Regarding Construction of a Socialist Harmonious Society 2005 Notices on Strengthening the Protection