Abstract
International resources have played an invaluable role in the creation of NGOs in contemporary China, mainly through financial support and human resource training. However, contrary to some views, the cases presented in this book show that international resources may not necessarily contribute to the political legitimacy of China’s NGOs. In fact, optimal utilization of international resources by China’s NGOs may require the prior establishment of state linkages and media connections to ensure an NGO’s political legitimacy and its ability to access state resources that are necessary to realize the objectives of the NGO. In addition, the cases presented here show that state linkages and media connections may play a direct role in helping China’s NGOs acquire international resources. These observations suggest that aspiring Chinese NGO entrepreneurs should not view international ties as the ultimate solution to their needs, but instead should invest considerable resources to developing state linkages and media connections.
A version of this chapter was presented at the International Studies Association Annual Conference in April 2013.
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Notes
- 1.
PILNET (http://www.pilnet.org) was originally established in 1997 as a program in the Columbia University’s School of Law. The mission of the organization has been in part to promote public interest law and to build civil society in post-communist countries.
- 2.
Tong was also a visiting fellow at the school at the same time, but for a shorter period of time.
- 3.
As of February 2014, Zhang, the director of research, was reported to be pursuing an LL.M. at Columbia University. US-Asia Law Institute, “Zhang Wenjuan of Zhicheng Public Interest Lawyers Organization Speaks at USALI,” New York University School of Law, http://usali.org/media-entities/zhang-wenjuan-of-zhicheng-public-interest-lawyers-organization-speaks-at-usali-2/ (accessed 10 May 2014).
- 4.
Laura Bain, “Second Week and Sanlitun,” William and Mary Law School, http://law.wm.edu/academics/intellectuallife/researchcenters/postconflictjustice/studentsummerblogs/laurabain/second-week-and-sanlitun.php (accessed 2 October 2011).
- 5.
In 2011, Gao stepped down from this position.
- 6.
Wu has an excellent command of the English language. I had an opportunity to listen to her speak to a group of U.S. college students engaging in short-term study at the Beijing Foreign Studies University. Her delivery was smooth and natural. In addition, she deftly handled on-the-spot questions from the students.
- 7.
Burris’s Chinese name was “Bai Mei” (White Plum). She is now the founder and executive director of the Trust for Indigenous Culture and Health (http://www.ticahealthy.org).
- 8.
Xie told me that attendance at the conferences had to be approved by ACWF and the federation expected the Chinese participants to represent the federation.
- 9.
Both Wu Qing and Xie Lihua had been featured in international press. For example, in January 2008, the Los Angeles Times published a story about Xie Lihua: John M. Glionna, “A Voice for Rural Women of China,” Los Angeles Times, 2 January 2008, http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jan/02/world/fg-women2 (accessed 26 January 2012). Moreover, Xie Lihua and Rural Women have been featured prominently in published studies by foreign scholars.
- 10.
In this respect, Wei had made sure that he kept the relevant government officials informed about his activities and the sources of support for his activities. Wei believed that it was important to sustain the trust of government officials, even though Wei’s behavior has elicited criticisms from other leaders of Chinese migrant worker NGOs.
- 11.
The reading room was approximately the size of a 10’ × 10’ room with some shelves along the walls. The collection of readings was a mixture of popular Chinese novels, newspapers, literature from different NGOs, and some state pamphlets about relevant laws and regulations.
- 12.
Although international donors have been interested in supporting Chinese NGOs that could engage the state, they have also funded other NGO projects with the aim of developing new local NGOs. In fact, international donors like the Ford Foundation have “encouraged” local NGOs to become more self-sufficient by reducing and even cutting off support to local NGOs after a certain number of years of support. Of course, there have been exceptions to this “rule,” such as the ongoing support of Rural Women by the Ford Foundation.
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Tai, J.W. (2015). Capacity Without Legitimacy: The Limits of International Ties. In: Building Civil Society in Authoritarian China. SpringerBriefs in Environment, Security, Development and Peace, vol 20. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-03665-6_5
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