Editorial – Global China Beyond the Belt and Road Initiative
In: China perspectives, Band 2020, Heft 4, S. 3-5
ISSN: 1996-4617
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In: China perspectives, Band 2020, Heft 4, S. 3-5
ISSN: 1996-4617
In: China perspectives, Band 2020, Heft 4, S. 29-37
ISSN: 1996-4617
In: Critical Asian studies, Band 52, Heft 1, S. 155-159
ISSN: 1472-6033
In: Critical Asian studies, Band 52, Heft 4, S. 512-529
ISSN: 1472-6033
Although much has been written about China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), so far little attention has been paid to how Chinese investment is affecting workers in BRI-targeted countries. To explore this dimension of global China, this paper examines the labor rights situation at Chinese-owned construction sites in Sihanoukville, a city on the Cambodian coast that in recent years has been described as embodying the worst excesses of Chinese foreign investment. Based on extensive interviews with Chinese and Cambodian workers, this paper argues that while Chinese-owned construction sites in Cambodia are grounded in a labor regime as exploitative as those in mainland China, workers' agency in the former case is further undermined by their employers' adoption of a policy of labor force dualism that draws boundaries between Chinese and Cambodian workers. (Crit Asian Stud/GIGA)
World Affairs Online
In: China perspectives: Shenzhou-zhanwang, Heft 4, S. 29-37
ISSN: 2070-3449, 1011-2006
In recent years, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU), the only trade union legally allowed in China, has become increasingly assertive on the international stage. Successive amendments to its constitution demand that the ACFTU not only assist the Chinese authorities in pushing forward the Belt and Road Initiative, but also reshape the current order of the international labour movement. Through the testimonies of local trade unionists, this paper examines how the ACFTU is attempting to achieve these goals in Cambodia, a country with large inflows of Chinese investment. The article will show that the Chinese trade union in Cambodia consistently engages with local Cambodian government-aligned actors that are usually neglected by the international labour movement, providing them with material assistance and opportunities to travel abroad. It argues that the impact of these activities should not be dismissed, as their alignment with the illiberal agenda of the Cambodian authorities and the priorities of employers has the potential to drastically change the landscape of trade unionism in Cambodia. (China Perspect/GIGA)
World Affairs Online
In: The China journal: Zhongguo-yanjiu, Band 82, S. 177-178
ISSN: 1835-8535
In: The China journal: Zhongguo-yanjiu, Band 81, S. 172-174
ISSN: 1835-8535
In: The China journal: Zhongguo-yanjiu, Band 78, S. 193-194
ISSN: 1835-8535
In: The China quarterly, Band 222, S. 554-555
ISSN: 1468-2648
In: The China quarterly: an international journal for the study of China, Heft 218, S. 474-492
ISSN: 0305-7410, 0009-4439
The narrative about Chinese NGOs active in defending migrant workers' rights describes these organizations as increasingly powerful instruments through which Chinese people take part in public affairs, develop and articulate personal interests, and collectively form a more active and participatory citizenry. This article challenges not only the idea of labour NGOs as a progressive force for political change, but also the belief - widely shared among the international labour movement - that these organizations are sprouts of independent unionism in China. After a short overview of the historical process which led to the birth of labour NGOs in China, this article analyses the relations between these NGOs and four fundamental actors - the state, the workers, international donors and other NGOs - and argues that many of these organizations are struggling as a consequence of a substantial lack of "social capital." (China Q/GIGA)
World Affairs Online
In: The China quarterly, Band 218, S. 474-492
ISSN: 1468-2648
AbstractThe narrative about Chinese NGOs active in defending migrant workers' rights describes these organizations as increasingly powerful instruments through which Chinese people take part in public affairs, develop and articulate personal interests, and collectively form a more active and participatory citizenry. This article challenges not only the idea of labour NGOs as a progressive force for political change, but also the belief – widely shared among the international labour movement – that these organizations are sprouts of independent unionism in China. After a short overview of the historical process which led to the birth of labour NGOs in China, this article analyses the relations between these NGOs and four fundamental actors – the state, the workers, international donors and other NGOs – and argues that many of these organizations are struggling as a consequence of a substantial lack of "social capital."
In: The China journal: Zhongguo-yanjiu, Band 71, S. 212-214
ISSN: 1835-8535
In: The China quarterly: an international journal for the study of China, Band 218, S. 474-492
ISSN: 0305-7410, 0009-4439
In: China perspectives, Band 2019, Heft 1, S. 75-84
ISSN: 1996-4617
In: China perspectives: Shenzhou-zhanwang, Heft 1, S. 75-84
ISSN: 2070-3449, 1011-2006
Since their appearance in the mid-1990s, Chinese labour NGOs have mostly focused on three kinds of activities: establishing workers' centres; carrying out outreach programs on labour rights; and conducting social surveys and policy advocacy. Some scholars have strongly criticised this approach, considering it excessively unbalanced towards an individualistic and narrowly legalistic view of labour rights and thus in line with the political agenda of the Party-state. Still, in the past few years, as labour conflict intensified, a handful of labour NGOs have moved forward to adopt a more militant strategy focussed on collective bargaining and direct intervention into worker collective struggles. Based on dozens of interviews with labour activists and workers and detailed analysis of two case studies of NGO-fostered collective labour mobilisation in Southern China in 2014-2015, this paper will outline the personal and political reasons that motivated these organisations to move beyond a narrow legalistic approach and turn towards collective struggles. It will also describe the strategies that Chinese labour activists have adopted in dealing with collective cases. We will conclude by examining the main challenges that labour activists in China have to face when dealing with labour unrest and by questioning the sustainability and feasibility of this new approach in the current political climate. (China Perspect/GIGA)
World Affairs Online