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Development and Social Governance of Guangdong Region in China During Reform and Opening-up: A Comparison with Northeast China

  • Journal of Manchurian Studies
  • Abbr : 만주연구
  • 2020, (29), pp.121~159
  • DOI : 10.22888/mcsa..29.202004.121
  • Publisher : The Manchurian Studies Association
  • Research Area : Social Science > Area Studies > East Asia > China
  • Received : March 15, 2020
  • Accepted : April 23, 2020
  • Published : April 30, 2020

YOON JONG SEOK 1

1서울대학교 아시아연구소

Accredited

ABSTRACT

After its reform and opening-up, China introduced new market mechanisms and faced a very complex form of social change with rapid economic development. Management and governance of ‘society’ at the national level became new items on China’s 2000s agenda. The fastest socioeconomic and governance-related development took place in the Guangdong region, which starkly contrasted with the relatively slow-paced growth in Northeast China. However, after reform and opening-up policies, Guangdong faced a complex ‘new society’ result from China’s rapid change. Its developmentalist policies led to socioeconomic contradictions that accumulated and become deeply embedded in the region. Protracting a mixture of policies between developmentalism, social wellbeing (minsheng), and divided communities (eryuan shequ), the Guangdong Provincial Government fell short of forming a new social order. Since the mid-2000s, the Guangdong provincial government has tried a complex social governance strategy of diversification through which social management and participation that selectively promotes select social organizations from the grass-roots level, enhance leadership roles of the Communist Party, establish comprehensive measures of the provincial government, and develop of innovative information technology to strengthen governance capabilities (jishuzhili). Guangdong’s developmentalist social governance strategy selectively incorporates and fosters social organizations based on their financial capacity, creating a state-market-society governance structure. This triad structure proved valuable in maximizing market mechanisms. Guangdong’s experiences serve as a noteworthy reference for social governance mechanisms that can contribute to addressing similar complexities that Northeast regions might face with (post-)developmentalist social governance issues in the future.

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