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Pao Yue-kong Library, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong http://www.lib.polyu.edu.hk Rural Participation for Equal Allocation and Economic Efficiency: Case Study of a Chinese Village in Guangdong, 1978-2011 Huaqi Wang Ph.D THE HONG KONG POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY 2014 Rural Participation for Equal Allocation and Economic Efficiency i The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Department of Applied Social Sciences Rural Participation for Equal Allocation and Economic Efficiency: Case Study of a Chinese Village in Guangdong, 1978-2011 Huaqi Wang A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy June, 2013 Rural Participation for Equal Allocation and Economic Efficiency ii CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I hereby declare that this thesis is my own work and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it reproduces no material previously published or written, nor material that has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma, except where due acknowledgement has been made in the text. __________________________ (signed) ___________________________(name of student) Rural Participation for Equal Allocation and Economic Efficiency iii Abstract My work attempts to explore why collective egalitarianism continues in post- Mao era. Irrespective of economic efficiency, peasants always insist equal allocation of collective land benefits, no matter in Maoist or post-Mao reform period. Such collective egalitarianim binding to insufficient non-agricultural employment and equal entitlements in collective land system already gets studied. Based on the shareholding cooperative in Yi village, the embeddedness of collective egalitarianism is discussed. Led by the approach of social relations, social interactions between village cadres and peasants also frame the egalitarianism regardelss of rural livelihood and land property rights. Yi village gives rise to valid and ample evidences about the continuity of collective egalitarianism. Though peasants’ dependence on land use has declined, collective programs like public security are still significant to them. Simultaneously, land use has been enclosed in the rich while land disposal is concentrated into village cadres. To secure equal allocation, peasants need to restrain the privatization of public assets by village cadres, which is indicated via rural mass participation. In village organs including collective corproate, village cadres control political power, and even delibratively preclude the public participation of peasants. In contrast, peasants of Yi village prosperously participate into public affairs via lineage organs. Equitable lineage membership helps the mass particpation . Ultimately, this studies emphasizes the cultural dynamics underlying the consistence of collective egalitarianism. Meanwhile, the strengths of peasants in relation to the state also gets more demonstrated. Rural Participation for Equal Allocation and Economic Efficiency iv Acknowledgements This work owes sincere thanks to a large number of people and institutions that contribute to my research and writing. This research started from September, 2009. First, thanks go to villagers which I interviewed, observed and actually lived for 5 months. To avoid interrupting their life on the grounds of some sensitively financial and political data applied in the dissertation, here I continue to use the same short name I utilized in the field work. In Yi village, two heads of Beinan and Tandong, Brother Pei and Uncle Yuan groups warmly invited me to their home, and introduced their friends and fellow villagers to help my study. Based on their information, I learned how hamlets run now and in pre-reform time. The candidate of Party Sectary, Brother Long, also critically showed how cadres at the administrative level ordinarily work. As main informants, Uncle De, Brother Zong, Brother Qiu, Minxi, Minjian, Uncle Pan, Brother Sheng, Uncle Hong, Brother Fu of Wu Lineage, and Uncle Rong, Uncle Wen, Uncle Zhi, Brother Hao, Aunt Zhou, Aunt Jiao, Brother Song, Madam Liu from Liu Lineage, and Uncle Bai from a minor ethnic group of Liang, all deserve thanks. Moreover, some non-locals also friendly entertain me with unique perspectives about transitional Yi village. Like other migrants, Brother Jun and his wife Madam Zhong, Uncle Ming, Laoli, Yaohua Mai, Huannan Zhong insightfully tell about Yi village by often comparing it with their home place. Moreover, special thanks are offered to Shunde Archive Bureau and Leliu township government and some of their workers. They help me smoothly step down to Yi village. Secondly, I am honorable to have guidance from many teachers in Hong Kong PolyU. From the very beginning, my research greatly benefits from their expertise Rural Participation for Equal Allocation and Economic Efficiency v and devotion in academics, and warm hearts after classes. My supervisor, Koo Ching-hua, Anita, is primarily appreciated here. Based on her detailed guidance, the research topic is narrowed down, necessary data is collected, and expressions in dissertation are properly improved. In a word, I thank her for leading me to the level of PhD. And I thank Dr. Ku Hok-bun very much. With his careful backup, I spent wonderful three years in the campus. And I also gain so much help from Dr. Yan Hai-rong and Prof. Pun Ngai in their classes and reading groups. They inspired me a lot in establishing a meaningful and available topic on collective land transition and rural politics. And Dr. Ip Fu-keung turned me to a dynamical approach about Chinese villages. Those teachers were never tired of reviewing my work in every step of my dissertation when I asked for. So did Prof. James Lee. As my co- supervisor, he always paid attention to my work in his busy executive time. Besides, Dr. Ho Kwok-leung let me learn intensive reading, and Dr. Law Pui-lam once talked to me many lineage studies. Sincerely thank above three people. Meanwhile, I also memorize the happy time that I assisted Dr. Ng Gua-tin and Dr. Sim Boo Wee in their research program. Further, I thank Jonathan Unger and Hui-lin LU for their presentation as my external examiners in my oral examination. I receive precious comments and thoughtful ideas from them both. It’s delightful to spend four years in PolyU, especially in office 404 for postgraduate students, with so many kindhearted, sympathetic and competitive classmates. Inside the campus, we enjoyed frequent discussions in academics, frank concerns about politics at home and broad, and happy hours in sports. I thus weight much on those people: Yi-yuan CHEN, Zi-cun LIANG, Yu-na MA, Ya LIU, Jing YANG, Wai-fong SIN, Jun DAITOU, Hang-ying CHEN, Yu-chen HAN, Juan PENG, Wei LU, Yun-xue DENG, Gabriele DE SETA, Hong-da JIANG. Rural Participation for Equal Allocation and Economic Efficiency vi Library in PolyU and counterparts in other universities of Hong Kong provide convenient and sufficient academic resources. I appreciate the help of staff there. The staff of department administrative offices and Research Office of PolyU always gives me considerable and rapid responses to my needs and questions. Thus specially thanks Fanny CHENG, Amy CHU, Wilney YAU and Shirley HUI. Lastly but importantly, my family and friends are worth more thanks than I could express in words. My parents and two sisters bolster my one-year extension by accommodating and sponsoring me in finance. And a unique thank is given to my wife, Jun-yan DONG, Jersie. I thank her for consistently standing side by side to face all difficulties and turbulence during the past four years of PhD study. She is the best listener, reader, and advisor. Table of contents CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY............................................................................. II ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................... III ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...........................................................................................IV TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................. VII LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES ........................................................................... XII CHAPTER ONE-INTRODUCTION EFFICIENCY, EGALITARIANISM AND SOCIAL RELATIONS IN THE POST-MAO COLLECTIVE LAND SYSTEM .............................................................. 1 1. The Historical Context..............................................................................................