The Micro-inspection Of Local Community Residential Self-governance In Contemporary China's Cities

Residential self-governance in communities is an important content incontemporary Chinese political studies. Since mid-1990s, with the deep developmentof China's open up and reform, the social service and social security functions, whichused to be hold by working units in cities, are transferred to communities. Thismakes the functions of residential self-governance organizations strengthened. Howdo the residential self-governance organizations come into being? How do they carryout the responsibilities of self-management, self-education and self-service? What isthe relationship between the residential self-governance organization and thegovernmental local committees and the basic branches of the CPC? How do the localresidents carry their self-government rights? These questions are the initial reasonsfor this paper, which as well help to deepen the understanding of the relationshipbetween government and politics in contemporary China. In this paper, based on the literature review, the author firstly illustrates thewriting intentions. Then this paper reviews the systematical design and practicaloperation through the case of Nanwei Road residential committee, trying to disclosethe interactive ways between the residential self-governance organization and thegovernmental local committees and the basic branches of the CPC through thegaining of residential committee right and operation process, aiming at clarifyingsome characteristics of residential self-governance in China's cities. What needs to be clarified is that the deputy meeting in communities should bethe most important organization in the process of operating their self-governanceright. However, during the research process, the author just sees the activity recordsof the residential committee election, while whether the residential committeeoperates the supervision rights and the decisive rights on important incidents in localcommunity are unknown. During the interviews, the authors asks about thecommunity deputy meetings for several times, the residential committee and Partybranch members on the one hand confirm it does play some role in communityself-governance, on the other hand, they cannot specifically describe how does itfunction. We can certainly make assumption on this phenomenon, but for the writingof this paper, what this problem can bring to us is that the lack of materials makesthis paper weak in the analysis on this aspect. To some extent, this can reflect theproblems facing the residential self-governance in China and possible solutions. The main arguments of this paper are: 1. The first purpose of establishing residential committee in the early 1950s wasto strengthen the organization and administration of local residents in cities. Thiscoincided with the task of quickly organizing the society after the establishment ofPRC. Connected with this intention, from 1950s to 1970s, during the operationprocess of the , the tasks given toresidential committees were focusing on the works submitted by the governmentbranches. The names of the residential committees also changes with the changes ofmain tasks of the Party and the government. After the Open up and Reform policy,with the breaking down of the working units running society mode, to the late 1980s,the social management and service function which used to be hold by working unitstransferred to the residential committees. Therefore, strengthening the construction ofresidential committee organizations became one essential task. 2. The residential committee is the organization of local self-governance, whilethe community deputy meeting is the highest organ of residential self-governance.Although the community deputy meeting as the highest organ having the rights tosupervise the work of residential committee and change and re-elect residentialcommittee members, according to the , "the deputy meeting should be called and hosted by the residentialcommittee". Then this brings the contradiction on the systema...