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Civil Society China Perspectives 2012/3 | 2012 Locating Civil Society Introduction: Discussing “civil society” and “liberal communities” in China Eva Pils Electronic version URL: http://journals.openedition.org/chinaperspectives/5927 DOI: 10.4000/chinaperspectives.5927 ISSN: 1996-4617 Publisher Centre d'étude français sur la Chine contemporaine Printed version Date of publication: 1 October 2012 Number of pages: 2-7 ISSN: 2070-3449 Electronic reference Eva Pils, « Introduction: Discussing “civil society” and “liberal communities” in China », China Perspectives [Online], 2012/3 | 2012, Online since 01 October 2012, connection on 22 September 2020. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/chinaperspectives/5927 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/ chinaperspectives.5927 © All rights reserved China perspectives Special Feature Introduction Discussing “Civil Society” and “Liberal Communities” in China EVA PILS he idea inspiring the present issue of China Perspectives is that there the perspective of Tocqueville and those he greatly influenced, the existence are certain communities – or groups, or fields – in Chinese civil society of civil society is clearly tied to a particular society’s democratic political Tthat can be most readily expected to promote the strengthening of organisation. This might hold the promise that a strengthening of civil so - universal values underpinning human rights. These values include freedom ciety could result in a strengthening also of the demand for democratic of conscience and speech, freedom of association and the right to political change. But it could also suggest that in politically hostile conditions, civil participation, and liberty of the person – basic liberties. (1) society cannot emerge. Adam Michnik’s “Towards a Civil Society” remains an important and, in Civil society and liberal democratic values China, also influential twentieth century reflection on the optimistic polit - ical reasoning Tocqueville’s account led to on the part of democracy ac - In different ways, communities of journalists, human rights defenders in - tivists in Eastern Europe. (8) Under the pressure of the systems they lived in, cluding in particular lawyers, religious communities, and nongovernmental direct and in a narrow sense “political” opposition, e.g., through the forma - organisations (NGO) involved in the provision of social services or advocacy tion of a political party or underground movement aiming to gain govern - can be especially important to the promotion of these values. Journalist ment power or overthrow the system, was on the one hand not as eligible communities, religious groups, and NGOs are also dependent on freedom as a more diffuse, less direct, broader, and non-violent strategy. On the other of speech, (2) conscience, (3) and association, (4) whereas rights lawyers are en - hand, just because these systems were totalitarian (at least from the per - gaged in the defence of the rights to due process, a fair trial, and access to justice. (5) In non-liberal, nondemocratic political systems, support from in - 1. A conception of “basic liberties” is developed e.g. in John Rawls’ version of liberalism. Rawls’ ac - ternational or transnational civil society is an especially important further count lists the right to vote and run for office, freedom of speech and assembly, freedom of con - science, freedom of personal property, and freedom from arbitrary arrest ( A Theory of Justice , aspect. Accordingly, the contributions to this volume discuss these fields Cambridge, Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1971, p. 53). For criticism of this “parsimo - and aspects. nious” account, see e.g. John Tasioulas, “Human Rights” entry in Routledge Companion to the Phi - losophy of Law (forthcoming, 2012). Our project had to overcome some challenges, beginning with the contro - 2. Relevant formulations can be found in Article 35 of the 1982 PRC Constitution (last revised 2004, versial question of whether, even assuming that the idea of “civil society” “the PRC Constitution”), Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), and makes sense, a civil society can exist in (post-) authoritarian China. Addressing Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), for example. (The PRC has signed but not yet ratified the ICCPR.) this question, this introduction argues for a liberal conception of civil society, 3. The right to freedom of religion is recognised in Article 36 of the PRC Constitution. See also Article and on the basis of this conception discusses the contributions on the par - 18 ICCPR and Article 18 UDHR on the freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. ticular Chinese civil society fields contained in this issue. An insight emerging 4. Cf. Article 35 of the PRC Constitution; Articles 21, 22 ICCPR, Article 20 UDHR. from all the contributions is that political pressure on – and sometimes re - 5. On the broader topic of access to justice in China, see Jayshree Bajoria, “Access to Justice in China,” www.cfr.org/china/access-justice-china/p15745 (consulted on 20 August 2012), and Fu Hualing, pression of – civil society is met by the strengthening and diversification of “Access to Justice in China: Potentials, Limits, and Alternatives,” draft, September 2009, via resources to resist pressure, and often contributes to rising consciousness of http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1474073 (consulted on 20 August 2012). International law does not explicitly protect an abstract right to access to justice, but this right is the institutional safeguards needed for a genuine civil society. implicit in substantive and procedural rights guarantees (see for example Article 2 ICCPR, Article 8 UDHR). Relevant domestic constitutional provisions include Articles 33, 37, and 41 of the PRC Constitution. Conceptual issues: Civil society in China 6. For an excellent and more extensive discussion of the intellectual origins of civil society discourse between “gongmin” and “minjian” – addressing such diverse influences as Hannah Arendt, Juergen Habermas, Amitai Eztioni, Robert Nisbet, and Jonathan Unger – see Chan Kin-man, Zou xiang gongmin shehui (Towards a civil so - ciety), Hong Kong, UP Publications Limited, 2010, chapter 1. There is no universally accepted definition of “civil society,” because to 7. Alexis de Tocqueville, De la Démocratie en Amérique, 1835, available at www.ecole- say a civil society exists is to make an evaluative judgement. Interpretations alsacienne.org/CDI/pdf/1400-0107/14096_TOCQ1.pdf and www.ecole-alsacienne.org/CDI/pdf/ have produced different conceptions ranging from the sociological to the 1400-0107/14097_TOCQ2.pdf (links consulted on 20 August 2012); e.g., at p. 391 (Part I). " That Providence has given to every human being the degree of reason necessary to direct himself in (more explicitly normative) political. (6) These have different virtues. The clas - the affairs which interest him exclusively — such is the grand maxim upon which civil and political sic, liberal political conception is often traced back to Tocqueville’s account society rests in the United States. The father of a family applies it to his children; the master to his servants; the township to its officers; the province to its townships; the State to its provinces; of eighteenth century American society, characterised, in his view, by the the Union to the States; and when extended to the nation, it becomes the doctrine of the sover - prevalence of associations, formed freely and voluntarily for non-commer - eignty of the people". 8. Adam Michnik, “Towards a Civil Society: Hopes for Polish Democracy: Interview with Erica Blair cial purposes, to serve some aspect of the common good – formed, thus, in (John Keane),” pp. 104 ff, in Adam Michnik, Letters from Freedom: Post-Cold War Realities and the civic or “civil” spirit to be found in democratic political systems. (7) From Perspectives , Berkeley, University of California Press, 1998, pp. 96-113. 2 china perspectives • N o. 2012/3 Eva Pils – Introduction: Discussing “Civil Society” and “Liberal Communities” in China spective of those who opposed them), the formation of communities re - institute working on “civil society studies” when Chinese civil society will sisting domination by the state was certain to be effective, even if such finally “arrive.” communities did not directly engage in struggles for political power. “The Seeking a middle-ground position, other scholars such as Xiao Gongqin path of perseverant struggle toward reform, the path toward broader civil suggest that civil society could be conceived of as less opposed to the state, and human rights, is the only path for dissidents in East Europe.” Asked how less like what Xiao terms the “Anglo-American model” of civil society, and the concept of civil society, “this old-fashioned eighteenth century term,” more cooperating with it in the spirit of continental European social democ - could be relevant to Poland in the 1980s, Michnik replied: racy. Certainly, Xiao points out, China has changed dramatically compared to the Mao Zedong era, when in a certain sense there was not even a “so - In the totalitarian order, the state is the teacher and society is the pupil ciety” to speak of, let alone a “civil society” – when the ideology of the om - in the classroom, which is sometimes converted into a prison or a mil - nipotent state ( quanneng guojia zhuyi 全能国家主义 ) ruled out the itary camp. In a civil society, by contrast, people do not want to be existence of society as something juxtaposed with and potentially inde - pupils, soldiers, or slaves; they act as citizens… The point is that, as cit - pendent of the state. (17) izens, we in the democratic opposition don’t want to be treated any In part perhaps from a sense that the expression “ gongmin shehui ” would longer as children or slaves. The basic principle of the anti-feudal move - fail to reflect the reality of their own current society, some of those who ment was human rights, the idea that everyone has rights equal to caution against applying the term to China opt for the normatively less those of the monarch.
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