The lobbying of Chinese elite universities Jia Liang (Jane) A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of The Australian National University (Submitted on 27 November 2015 with minor revisions made in May 2016) © Copyright by Jia Liang 2016 All Rights Reserved 2 Statement I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and to the best of my knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, or substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by others, with whom I have worked at ANU or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis. I have clearly stated the contribution of others to my thesis as a whole, including professional editorial advice, and any other original research work used or reported in my thesis. I also declare that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project’s design and conception or in style, presentation and linguistic expression is acknowledged. The thesis is an original work completed by: Signature Jia Liang (Jane) Date: 10 May 2016 3 4 Acknowledgements Firstly, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to my principal supervisor Dr Luigi Tomba for his continuous support and immense knowledge. He is one of the best teachers that I have had in my life. His guidance helped me throughout my research and writing of this thesis. I could not have imagined having a better advisor and mentor for my PhD study. I am deeply grateful and indebted to Professor Jonathan Unger and Professor Glenn Withers, the wonderful members on my academic supervisory panel, for their insightful comments and encouragement, especially their challenging questions which inspired me to widen and deepen my research from various perspectives. Moreover, my sincere thanks go to Dr Les Rymer who reviewed my entire thesis and provided invaluable comments which have benefited me enormously. I have to give a special mention to my mentor Mr Michael Gallagher. As a senior policy advisor for the OECD and my former boss at the Group of Eight Universities Australia (Go8), he helped spark my interest in this research field. I cherish the experience and memories we shared in building the Go8’s global research university networks during 20082014, especially with China. I would also like to acknowledge the professional editorial assistance from Ms Beth Battrick. Additionally, I am indebted to my numerous friends and colleagues (including the presidents) from Chinese universities who have openly shared their insights and provided generous support to me during my fieldwork. My sincere thanks also go to the ANU Australian Centre on China in the World (CIW) for all the assistance during my PhD years. I will miss my beautiful office with the stunning view overlooking the green oval and Black Mountain. Last but not the least, none of this would have been possible without the love and patience of my family and friends. Especially, my heart-felt gratitude goes to my husband Joshua Young, my parents Professor Liang Guowei and Cai Jianrui, as well as my in-laws Michael Young and Judy Young. They have given me enormous love and strength throughout my research and my life in general. I now look forward to sharing much more time with them in France, China and Australia! Canberra, Australia, October 2015 5 6 Abstract Despite the growing research on policy lobbying in China, little is known about Chinese research universities’ perspectives, strategies and interactions with the government in their efforts to influence higher education policies and advance their individual and collective interests. Their lobbying practices have long been hidden from the public view and difficult to research. Yet, the elite Chinese research universities have accumulated capacity to exert influence, and their discreet lobbying of government institutions has in fact become prevalent and is one of the most significant parts of university–government relations. This study investigates how the leading Chinese research universities interact with the central government to influence policies of crucial importance to their operations. In particular, it explores the strategies and forms of agency the institutions develop to exploit the loopholes of a fragmented central bureaucracy, and identifies the key factors and ‘rules of the game’ that shape their lobbying behaviour and define their patterns of interaction with the state. It asks how successful they are vis-à-vis the authoritarian state in a tight regulatory environment, and the potential implications of their activism for the current political structure. My study relies on a unique set of empirical evidence which includes 48 personal interviews with university top leaders and executives from a range of leading research universities, as well as with government officials. An in-depth analysis of these interviews and other previously inaccessible materials yields remarkable findings. It reveals two salient factors framing the university–state interactions: the need and capacity to monitor, navigate and penetrate an opaque central power structure within the state bureaucracy and the regulatory environment of the higher education sector; and the contingencies that create strategic opportunities and/or major crises. When the central power structure and regulatory environment are rigid, taking advantage of or reacting to any contingencies becomes necessary for any effective actions. ‘Lobbying authoritarianism’ is the result of the hybrid nature of universities in China’s political system: they need autonomy to modernise their operations and gain international and domestic prestige while at the same time remaining dependent on the government’s ideology, financial control, and political will. Their strategic and contingent activism is unlikely to lead, singlehandedly, to any significant structural changes. Yet, through lobbying, these institutions have pushed policy boundaries and engineered incremental modifications to the system demonstrating a remarkable capacity to produce specific opportunities and influence individual decisions. Their lobbying strategies may also 7 produce an enduring impact on policymaking, increasing officials’ reliance and acceptance of bottom-up inputs and facilitating a more inclusive and rational approach in the bureaucracy. These gradual steps may altogether lead to a more vibrant education sector, and ultimately, an evolution of the system and a more open society. This original work advances our understanding about the practices of lobbying authoritarianism and of university behaviour in this field. It also provides new insights and facilitates future research on the major phenomena of the changing role and nature of the central state and of the role and nature of the elite research universities in China. 8 Table of contents Contents List of diagrams ...................................................................................................... 13 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 15 China’s changing landscape ..................................................................................................... 17 Changes in statesociety relations on policymaking ................................................... 17 The university sector .................................................................................................... 18 Chinese universities as policy advocates ................................................................................. 24 Aim and significance of the study ............................................................................................ 31 Research design and methods ................................................................................................. 32 Structure overview of the thesis .............................................................................................. 34 Chapter 1—The higher education policymaking arena: opportunities for agency in an authoritarian structure ........................................................................................... 37 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 37 Defining the powers: the central governing institutions ......................................................... 38 Party-state .................................................................................................................... 39 The Ministry of Education (MoE) ................................................................................. 44 The lack of intermediary bodies and advocacy groups ................................................ 44 Defining national universities: central sponsorship and supervision ...................................... 46 National universities’ affiliation with the central state ............................................... 48 National universities’ dependence on central funding ................................................ 49 National universities’ autonomy .................................................................................. 50 National universities and their local governments .....................................................