In China's socialist market economy, "Communities" are taking over
"Work Units" as the new focus of support for the citizen.
When Dong Xianyi was laid off from work, he not only continued to
be paid part of his salary from his former company, but also
received a minimum living allowance from his Mingze Street
Community in Zhongshan District of Dalian City.
Dong's Community is only one of many now emerging in China. The
help they offer ranges from low-income support to services for
those with handicaps. Support can be lifelong, starting with care
in childbirth, moving on to assistance with parenting and extending
through to arrangements in retirement. A help centre has been
established in Mingze Street Community with a telephone hotline to
dispatch assistance to where it is required.
In
the old days, when the planned economy dominated China's economic
system, urban citizens relied totally on their working units. They
not only provided a place to work but could also be a source of
finance, they would enrol children to kindergarten, provide for
retirement and so on.
However, in recent years, the establishment of the socialist market
economy has begun to change this once familiar pattern. The
relationship between the work unit and its personnel is now moving
towards that of a simple contract of employment. Help outside of
work is now more likely to be sought and found in the
Community.
According to some Chinese scholars, a Community may be best defined
as a "jurisdiction established under a neighbourhood committee." A
typical Community will serve 1,500 households of citizens. Starting
from scratch in the 1980s China now has more than 110,000 City
Communities. All this has been made possible by and realised in the
context of China's new booming economy.
From community service to community culture, from public security
to medical care, more and more people today feel a real sense of
belonging to their Community.
Li
Lin, 39, suffers from anal cancer. His wife left him and their
8-year-old daughter. It was the ladies of the neighbourhood
committee who applied on his behalf for the minimum living
allowance when he faced major surgery. They secured a tuition fee
waiver for his daughter and helped clean his house.
Nowadays the Community is becoming indispensable for some people
with special needs and is a welcome source of support to the
ordinary urban citizen. According to Bai who is involved with a
newly established housekeeping service known as "Little Helper,"
many residents came to the centre to look for a housekeeper or
odd-job man paid on hourly rates. Others seek advice on renting a
house or in their business affairs.
Professor Liu Zhongquan, guest director with the Research Committee
on Chinese Cities' Development, sees every Community as an
extension of the family. He considers that the Communities are now
entering a new phase of development.
As
far as he is concerned, the old management system in which all the
residents belong to a single fixed organisation is breaking down.
This is against the background of a flood of people migrating from
the countryside to the cities. Greater mobility within this
floating population when taken together with an increasing age
profile points to the need for a new system.
Promoting the development of Communities has become an important
facet of 21st century development of China's modern cities. Cities
like Beijing, Shanghai, Shijiangzhuang and Dalian are actively
seeking to develop new civic systems at grass roots level. There
has been a gradual acceptance of a move towards smaller scale
solutions.
In
the southern city of Guangzhou, the street residential committee is
evolving into the neighbourhood committee formed through direct
democratic election.
According to Wang Sibin, professor with the Sociology Department of
Peking
University, there is a big difference between the new Community
developments and what happened before. Previous activities were
part of the function of government and required central
organisation and planning. Today the goal is to build up a
comparatively independent local Community with its own smooth and
stable operation.
In
the Chinese cities, Community development follows the pattern of
"small government, big society." It seeks to promote activities
that will serve the people and manage society at the same time.
Clearly there is still a long way to go in the development of
Chinese Communities and improvements in social service. Significant
imbalances still exist between different Communities and the social
welfare system is lagging behind. In addition, the need to provide
training for members of Community teams remains an issue to be
addressed.
"There is no doubt that the development of China's Communities is
still at an early stage," said Liu Zhongquan. "Long-term success
will largely depend on the full and active participation of
citizens in their Communities".
(china.org.cn by Feng Shu, July 1, 2002)