Anita Chan - Böcker

The first two editions of "Chen Village" presented an enthralling account of a Chinese village in the throes of Maoist revolution followed by dramatic changes in village life and local politics during the Deng Xiaoping period. Now, more than a decade and a half later, the authors have returned to "Chen Village", and in three new chapters they explore astonishing developments. The once-backwater village is today a center of China's export industry, where more than 50,000 workers labor in modern factories, ruled by the village government. This new edition of "Chen Village" illuminates, in microcosm, the recent history of rural China up to the present time.

This important book contains case studies with substantive analysis of Chinese workers in a variety of settings: state enterprises, urban collectives, township and village enterprises, domestic private enterprises, and foreign funded enterprises. The cases include urban workers migrant workers from the countryside, and workers who are sent to work outside of China. The analytical framework for these case studies lays out why labor rights violations have been occurring in China and highlights the contex in which these violations operate and the extent to which these selected cases are not isolated incidents. Moreover, the dilemma of Chinese workers is put into international perspective: the context of the international labor market, the setting of competitive minimum wages in Asia, and the concern for Chinese workers' rights taken up by the International Labor Organization (ILO). This book debunks the conventional wisdom that Chinese workers are thriving because the Chinese economy is booming. Indeed the wage structures of these enterprises of different ownership types contribute to widening income disparities in China. The book uncovers what exactly overseas Chinese entrepreneurship (Taiwan and Hong Kong), means at the factory level. And it calls for a new approach to scrutinizing the phenomena of the so-called Chinese economic miracle and it's repercussions on other economies and labor markets.

This important book contains case studies with substantive analysis of Chinese workers in a variety of settings: state enterprises, urban collectives, township and village enterprises, domestic private enterprises, and foreign funded enterprises. The cases include urban workers migrant workers from the countryside, and workers who are sent to work outside of China. The analytical framework for these case studies lays out why labor rights violations have been occurring in China and highlights the contex in which these violations operate and the extent to which these selected cases are not isolated incidents. Moreover, the dilemma of Chinese workers is put into international perspective: the context of the international labor market, the setting of competitive minimum wages in Asia, and the concern for Chinese workers' rights taken up by the International Labor Organization (ILO). This book debunks the conventional wisdom that Chinese workers are thriving because the Chinese economy is booming. Indeed the wage structures of these enterprises of different ownership types contribute to widening income disparities in China. The book uncovers what exactly overseas Chinese entrepreneurship (Taiwan and Hong Kong), means at the factory level. And it calls for a new approach to scrutinizing the phenomena of the so-called Chinese economic miracle and it's repercussions on other economies and labor markets.

Walmart and "Made in China" are practically synonymous; Walmart imports some 70 percent of its merchandise from China. Walmart is now also rapidly becoming a major retail presence there, with close to two hundred Walmarts in more than a hundred Chinese cities. What happens when the world's biggest retailer and the world's biggest country do business with each other? In this book, a group of thirteen experts from several disciplines examine the symbiotic but strained relationship between these giants. The book shows how Walmart began cutting costs by bypassing its American suppliers and sourcing directly from Asia and how Walmart's sheer size has trumped all other multinationals in squeezing procurement prices and, as a by-product, driving down Chinese workers' wages. China is also an inviting frontier for Walmart's global superstore expansion. As China's middle class grows, the chain's Western image and affordable goods have become popular. Walmart's Arkansas headquarters exports to the Chinese stores a unique corporate culture and management ideology, which oddly enough are reminiscent of Mao-era Chinese techniques for promoting loyalty. Three chapters separately detail the lives of a Walmart store manager, a lower-level store supervisor, and a cashier. Another chapter focuses on employees' wages, "voluntary" overtime, and the stores' strict labor discipline. In 2006, the official Chinese trade union targeted Walmart, which is antilabor in its home country, and succeeded in setting up union branches in all the stores. Walmart in China reveals the surprising outcome.

As the "world's factory" China exerts an enormous pressure on workers around the world. Many nations have had to adjust to a new global political and economic reality, and so has China. Its workers and its official trade union federation have had to contend with rapid changes in industrial relations. Anita Chan argues that Chinese labor is too often viewed from a prism of exceptionalism and too rarely examined comparatively, even though valuable insights can be derived by analyzing China's workforce and labor relations side by side with the systems of other nations. The contributors to Chinese Workers in Comparative Perspective compare labor issues in China with those in the United States, Australia, Japan, India, Pakistan, Germany, Russia, Vietnam, and Taiwan. They also draw contrasts among different types of workplaces within China. The chapters address labor regimes and standards, describe efforts to reshape industrial relations to improve the circumstances of workers, and compare historical and structural developments in China and other industrial relations systems.

Walmart and "Made in China" are practically synonymous; Walmart imports some 70 percent of its merchandise from China. Walmart is now also rapidly becoming a major retail presence there, with close to two hundred Walmarts in more than a hundred Chinese cities. What happens when the world's biggest retailer and the world's biggest country do business with each other? In this book, a group of thirteen experts from several disciplines examine the symbiotic but strained relationship between these giants. The book shows how Walmart began cutting costs by bypassing its American suppliers and sourcing directly from Asia and how Walmart's sheer size has trumped all other multinationals in squeezing procurement prices and, as a by-product, driving down Chinese workers' wages. China is also an inviting frontier for Walmart's global superstore expansion. As China's middle class grows, the chain's Western image and affordable goods have become popular. Walmart's Arkansas headquarters exports to the Chinese stores a unique corporate culture and management ideology, which oddly enough are reminiscent of Mao-era Chinese techniques for promoting loyalty. Three chapters separately detail the lives of a Walmart store manager, a lower-level store supervisor, and a cashier. Another chapter focuses on employees' wages, "voluntary" overtime, and the stores' strict labor discipline. In 2006, the official Chinese trade union targeted Walmart, which is antilabor in its home country, and succeeded in setting up union branches in all the stores. Walmart in China reveals the surprising outcome.

As the "world's factory" China exerts an enormous pressure on workers around the world. Many nations have had to adjust to a new global political and economic reality, and so has China. Its workers and its official trade union federation have had to contend with rapid changes in industrial relations. Anita Chan argues that Chinese labor is too often viewed from a prism of exceptionalism and too rarely examined comparatively, even though valuable insights can be derived by analyzing China's workforce and labor relations side by side with the systems of other nations. The contributors to Chinese Workers in Comparative Perspective compare labor issues in China with those in the United States, Australia, Japan, India, Pakistan, Germany, Russia, Vietnam, and Taiwan. They also draw contrasts among different types of workplaces within China. The chapters address labor regimes and standards, describe efforts to reshape industrial relations to improve the circumstances of workers, and compare historical and structural developments in China and other industrial relations systems.

Close to a decade after the collapse of the Soviet bloc, the communist parties of China and Vietnam are not only surviving but are firmly in control. Both countries have moved decidedly away from the state-planned economies their governments championed for decades. They are now "market economies" and can look with some satisfaction to their recent records of economic performance. Yet, unlike their European counterparts, they have made this transition without undergoing major political upheavals.Arguing that an understanding of the similarities and differences among communist countries provides valuable insights into their momentous transformations, this comprehensive volume compares recent changes in China and Vietnam. Exploring the economic, political, and social effects of reform programs, the chapters pair leading Vietnam and China scholars in a genuinely comparative analysis. Finding similarities—and unexpected differences—the authors conclude that Vietnam often has forged its own path rather than following the Chinese model.Contributions by: Anita Chan, Adam Fforde, Benedict J. Tria Kerkvliet, Hy Van Luong, David G. Marr, Barrett L. McCormick, Irene Nørlund, Stanley Rosen, Mark Selden, William S. Turley, Jonathan Unger, Brantly Womack, and Alexander Woodside.

The Chinese political system has not been hospitable to political dissidence. From the end of the Cultural Revolution fighting in 1968 up to 1976, the year of Mao's death -- an eight year period marked by radical policy-making and political infighting -- only a single significant piece of dissident writing obtained wide circulation in China. This dissident manifesto, On Socialist Democracy and the Legal System, an angrily sardonic essay written in 1974 by a small group of young intellectuals in · Canton, probed into the country's political ailments and sought answers to the breakdown of due process of law. The two major authors of that essay subsequently emerged during the 'democracy movement' of 1979-81 as nationally influential writers on questions of bureaucracy, Party dominance, and democratic reform. This book examines their writings, from the famous On Socialist Democracy and the Legal System through their arrests and release, down to the lengthy 1980 essay Mao Zedong and the Cultural Revolution, an unconventional history of modern Chinese politics whose author soon thereafter was re­ sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment.

The Chinese political system has not been hospitable to political dissidence. From the end of the Cultural Revolution fighting in 1968 up to 1976, the year of Mao's death -- an eight year period marked by radical policy-making and political infighting -- only a single significant piece of dissident writing obtained wide circulation in China. This dissident manifesto, On Socialist Democracy and the Legal System, an angrily sardonic essay written in 1974 by a small group of young intellectuals in · Canton, probed into the country's political ailments and sought answers to the breakdown of due process of law. The two major authors of that essay subsequently emerged during the 'democracy movement' of 1979-81 as nationally influential writers on questions of bureaucracy, Party dominance, and democratic reform. This book examines their writings, from the famous On Socialist Democracy and the Legal System through their arrests and release, down to the lengthy 1980 essay Mao Zedong and the Cultural Revolution, an unconventional history of modern Chinese politics whose author soon thereafter was re­ sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment.

In 1974, a small group of young intellectuals, the Li Yizhe group, circulated their dissident manifesto, ‘On Socialist Democracy and the Legal System,’ a probing critique of the leftist authoritarianism of Mao Zedong. This title examines the writings of these dissidents as a means to better understand the views of non-Party Marxists in their struggle to defy the government and construct their own vision of a socialist China. Originally published in 1985, this title remains relevant in relation to contemporary Chinese politics and will be of interest to students of Asian Studies and Politics.

In 1974, a small group of young intellectuals, the Li Yizhe group, circulated their dissident manifesto, ‘On Socialist Democracy and the Legal System,’ a probing critique of the leftist authoritarianism of Mao Zedong. This title examines the writings of these dissidents as a means to better understand the views of non-Party Marxists in their struggle to defy the government and construct their own vision of a socialist China. Originally published in 1985, this title remains relevant in relation to contemporary Chinese politics and will be of interest to students of Asian Studies and Politics.