Context and Rationale
With its new found confidence on the world stage, the rise of China is generating great interest, even anxiety, in the trajectory of its political future. Thirty years of rapid economic development have fundamentally transformed Chinese society, and are increasingly stimulating political changes. More and more Chinese citizens are receiving high levels of education, are travelling and studying abroad, and are becoming more pluralistic and autonomous. By the end of 2008, 300 million Chinese have access to the internet, a 42% increase from the previous year.
My research will seek to discover the effects these vast socioeconomic changes have had on expectations and perceptions of a new generation of Chinese citizens. I will study Chinese citizens born after 1978 (the year economic reform started in China) and hence grew up amidst the fast socio-economic changes of the 1980s and 1990s. The oldest of these post-reform citizens are in their early 30s, and post-reform generations will soon comprise the most dynamic portion of China's population: those between 20 and 40 years old. Data available now show that compared to the older generations, the post-reform citizens are 1.3 times as likely to use the internet everyday, and almost three times more likely to like western food such as sandwiches and pizzas. At the same time, they are 61 percent more likely to oppose government control of free discussions of ideas. They appear to be China's generation of democrats coming of age.
Objectives
Using survey data collected in the last 2-3 years, my study will generate concrete knowledge about China's post-reform citizens in the a wide range of dimensions: 1) Lifestyles: How do they negotiate the impacts of modern and western lifestyles and traditional Chinese life patterns? 2) International Outlooks: How do they view international and global actors, such as the UK, Europe, the US, and the WTO? 3) Civil Society Involvement: What kinds of NGO groups are they attracted to? 4) Democratic Ideas: Are they supporting democracy as a form of government, and how do they understand democratic politics? 5) Awareness of Rights: What do they think of the rights to freedom of speech, free election, and political participation? 6) Assessment of Governance: How do they evaluate the performance of Chinese government? 7) Political Behaviours: How do they participate in politics and engage in protests and other forms of public expression? 8) Environmentalism: How do they engage in actions related to the environment? 9) And Gender Attitudes: How do they understand gender-related issues?
Methodology
Several survey datasets will be analysed: the 2006 and 2008 AsiaBarometer Survey; the 2002 and 2008 Asian Barometer Survey, the 2007 World Values Survey (China), the 2008 Peking University Survey on Citizens' Political Attitudes and Behaviours, and the 2006 China General Social Survey. Either because I am a member of the collaborative projects that collected these datasets, or the datasets have been released for public use, no costs will be incurred in obtaining the data. All these surveys cover a representative sample of Chinese citizens, providing a strong basis for understanding the propensities, attitudes, and aspirations of the post-reform Chinese citizens. Meanwhile, qualitative data collected through media reports, interviews and field observations will also be incorporated into my analysis, as will aggregate data such as those from China's statistical yearbooks and information generated by research institutes in China.
Research Programme
August 2009:
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Research Trip to Beijing, to obtain the 2008 Peking University Survey and 2006 China General Social Survey datasets (other datasets have been obtained);
September 2009 - August 2010:
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Data analyses and preparation of chapters for the intended book;
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One chapter will be devoted to each of the nine topics listed above in the Objectives section, with an Introduction and a Conclusion chapter;
September - December 2010 (not funded by this grant):
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Completion of book and submission to an academic press