Administrative Reform in the People's Republic of China since 1978 (review)

Reviews 445 Dong Lisheng, editor. Administrative Reform in the People's Republic of China since 1978. Working Papers Series, no. 1. Leiden: International Institute for Asian Studies, 1994. 189 pp. Paperback. This volume is a collection ofpapers presented at the 1994 International Conference on Administrative Reform in the PRC since 1978, which was held at Leiden. The editor claims that most ofthe papers included here "deal with issues that have not been studied fully; some are new topics for research such as the dispute settlement, the hukou system, and land and labor resources management in the rural areas" (p. 3). Indeed, China's administrative reform, though multifaceted and having made notable progress, is still an undercultivated field worth academic exploration. Book-length monographs devoted solely to this subject are a rarity, although Miriam Mills and Stuart Nagel edited a volume titled Public Administration in China that was published in 1993. The fact that both books have enlisted contributors from China may indicate the dearth ofinformation on the topic available outside China. Dong's efforts to organize the conference and to publish this collection are therefore particularly welcome for all those interested in the development ofpost-Mao China, and it should enrich their knowledge of the nation's administrative system. There are fourteen contributors to this volume, seven ofwhom are from the PRC and therefore add solid primary source material to the narrative. The six Dutch scholars and a Hong Kong observer, on the other hand, as learned outsiders, enjoy the advantage ofnot being haunted by the shadow ofpossible political pressure from Chinese authorities in their analyses of China's administrative reform. The book contains an introduction followed by eight articles. These are divided among three parts, which cover administrative law, civil service reform, and economic and social management, respectively. There is also an appendix consisting of two statements. One is written by a scholar from China's Institute ofAdministrative Science, and the other by a government official from China's Ministry ofPersonnel. The authors suggest that administrative reform in post-Mao China is aimed at improving the government's macroregulatory functions through, on the one hand, a withdrawal from the micromanagement ofeconomic affairs and, on the other hand, creating or strengthening government responsibility for social services and macroregulation in rural areas. This in turn necessitates a legal frame-© 1995 by University work and mechanism. ofHawai'iPressTne vomme js strong on information. Readers can find manyinsights and facts to chew on. For example, an earlier proposal to divide civil servants into a political affairs category and a professional work category—which is reminiscent 446 China Review International: Vol. 2, No. 2, Fall 1995 ofWoodrow Wilson's politics-administration dichotomy—has been removed from the final version ofthe civil service system so that the Party's control ofcadres can be ensured. In addition, the contributors to this book have brought a fresh view to the description ofpost-Mao administrative reform. The household registration system (hukou), a key instrument in state control over society, has effectively divided the Chinese population into a privileged stratum and a lessprivileged stratum. As reform proceeds, however, the Chinese authorities acquiesce in and even support selling urban registrations, although holders ofthe new hukou often receive only "partial" "urban" treatment (p. 116). Meanwhile, the loosening ofstate control in the rural areas has resulted in a "new enclosing land movement" in China (p. 125). A discussion of these and many other topics in the book represent an ambitious attempt by the authors to expand our understanding of changes in the public administration of the world's most populous nation. The book has its weaknesses. Some arguments deserve further scholarly examination . It strains credulity to believe that "politically the post-Cultural Revolution leadership share a common interest on the issue ofpromoting Technocrats to leading positions in the party and government" (p. 65). Also, some views expressed by contributors to this book contradict each another. While one author argues that the new civil service system has been down-graded as an administrative reform program and will lead to "some improvements on routine management only" (p. 4), another writes that the reforms are profound, constituting "negations ofthe old structure" (p. 156). Some suggestions...