Problematising the Public Sphere in China: A Case Study of the Red Cross Society of China Submitted by Bingling Wei Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Asian Studies School of Social Sciences Faculty of Arts The University of Adelaide February 2020 Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 1 Declaration .............................................................................................................................................. 3 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................. 4 Abbreviation ........................................................................................................................................... 7 Chapter 1: Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 8 1.1 Introductory Background .............................................................................................................. 9 1.2 Literature review on the RCSC in China ...................................................................................... 17 1.3 Literature review on the RCSC in the West................................................................................. 38 1.4 Research Questions .................................................................................................................... 43 1.5 Methodology ............................................................................................................................... 44 1.6 Thesis Structure .......................................................................................................................... 46 1.7 Significance ................................................................................................................................. 48 Chapter 2: Theoretical Framework ....................................................................................................... 50 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 50 2.2 The Public Sphere and Civil Society: Ideological and Theoretical Framework ........................... 51 2.3 The Concept of Civil Society in China: Complexity and Contradictions ...................................... 67 2.4 NGOs and the Red Cross in China: Development of the Public Sphere and Civil Society ........... 76 2.5 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 85 Chapter 3 The Red Cross Society beyond the Qing Government: 1904-1911 ...................................... 89 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 89 3.2 The Establishment of the Red Cross in China ............................................................................. 90 3.3 Shanghai’s Wanguo Red Cross .................................................................................................. 100 3.4 The Qing Government and Civil Societies ................................................................................. 108 3.5 Consolidation and Recognition of the RCSC after 1911 ............................................................ 115 3.6 Summary ................................................................................................................................... 117 Chapter 4 The Red Cross Society in the Republic of China: 1912-1949 ............................................. 119 4.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 119 4.2 The RCSC Beyond the Beiyang Government: 1912-1927 ......................................................... 121 4.3 The RCSC beyond the Nanjing Nationalist Government：1927-1936 ..................................... 155 4.4 The dispute over re-organizing the RCSC .................................................................................. 157 4.5 The RCSC beyond the Resistance War Against Japan: 1937-1942 ............................................ 169 4.6 Government Controls the Red Cross: 1943-1949 ..................................................................... 178 4.7 Summary ................................................................................................................................... 182 Chapter 5 The Red Cross Society of China in the Mao Era: 1949-1976 .............................................. 183 5.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 183 5.2 Restructuring for Social Organizations ..................................................................................... 185 5.3 Restructuring the RCSC in 1950 ................................................................................................ 190 5.4 Restructuring of Local Red Cross Offices .................................................................................. 213 5.5 The Cultural Revolution Period: 1966-1977 ............................................................................ 224 5.6 Summary ................................................................................................................................... 228 Chapter 6 The Red Cross Society in the Post-Mao Era: 1977-1999 .................................................... 230 6.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 230 6.2 Reform and Opening for the PRC .............................................................................................. 232 6.3 Changes in the RCSC’s Organizational Structure ...................................................................... 236 6.4 The organizational reform of the RCSC ..................................................................................... 263 6.5 Summary ................................................................................................................................... 271 Chapter 7 General Discussion: The Red Cross Society in China across Political Eras ........................ 273 7.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 273 7.2 The Space and Autonomy of NGOs in China ............................................................................. 275 7.3 Acceptance of Western Ideas of Civil Society and the Public Sphere ....................................... 287 Chapter 8: Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 299 References .......................................................................................................................................... 313 Abstract Problems that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) encountered in China, where the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-State has extensive control over society, raise question over whether the Western concept of public sphere is appropriate for China; or on the other hand, whether it is necessary to reconceptualise public sphere theory and practice to capture the realistic situation in China. To test this hypothesis the development and operation of the Red Cross in China will be analysed from both a historical and theoretical perspective. The thesis argues that the changing historic role of the Red Cross in China provides a case study of how NGOs operate within an environment in which the State plays an interventionist role in what can be deemed the public sphere. This case study of the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC), a member of the International Federation, takes us from its inception in China through to the post- Mao period up to 1999, and analyses how it operates within an environment where the State has historically and contemporarily been a central component of the public sphere. Whilst interference by the State is a constant, however, due to the historic change of political systems, this study of the RCSC shows different characteristics not only in terms of government intervention but also in conceptualization of the public sphere. The aim of this study is to explore the relationship between the RCSC and governments before and after 1949 and examine the history of the RCSC in four different periods as this NGO adapted to changing State regimes and what that says about such western notions of the public sphere and civil society. 1 By examining the relationship between the RCSC and governments in the late Qing Dynasty, the Republic of China, the Mao era and the post-Mao era up to 1999, this thesis argues that despite the central role of the State in all the phases of the RCSC’s history in China, there was differing but still evidential operational space for its effective functioning in civil society. The broader implications of the evidence from the RSCS role is that NGOs in China are able to perform useful roles in the Chinese society, such as the provision of public goods and services that the State cannot effectively