OVERSEAS YOUNG CHINESE FORUM
7th Annual Meeting
The State of Rural China:
Chinese Peasants, Agriculture and Rural Society in the Reform Era
Nathan Hale Inn & Conference Center, University of Connecticut, Storrs
May 27-30, 2005
In 1978 China launched its momentous reform in the rural areas. Centered round de-collectivization and the restitution of family farm, the rural reform generated great success in the early 1980s: peasants’ income increased, grain production improved, and by and large, the rural society remained stable amid drastic institutional changes. The success of the rural reform gave the Chinese leaders the confidence to pursue an even more ambitious reform agenda in the urban areas. It also laid the material foundation for the subsequent restructuring of the economic system and the transformation of the entire society.
In recent years, however, an incipient sense of crisis has developed among Chinese intellectuals and policymakers with respect to the rural areas. With the exception of a few putatively positive developments, such as rural industrialization, increased labor mobility and the implementation of local elections, rural China seems to have sunk into a state of economic stagnation, social chaos and intensified political conflict. This multi-dimensional crisis has been summed up as the “three agrarian issues” (or san nong in Chinese) in the official discourse.
This conference on rural China is organized around the “three agrarian issues.” Our aim is to take stock of the political, social and economic situations in rural China today, assess them, and raise critical awareness of the problems and potentials existing in rural China today. We also hope to highlight the dilemmas faced by ordinary peasants as well as the policymakers and start a constructive dialogue on finding possible solutions.
PROGRAM
(Dated 5/24/05)
Friday, May 27, 2005
6:00 pm: Registration, Check-in (Nathan Hale Inn Lobby, soft beverage and snacks provided by OYCF)
9:00 pm: Welcome Reception (Abagails Lounge in Nathan Hale Inn, guests are responsible for their own drinks/snacks)
Saturday, May 28, 2005
7:30 am: Breakfast (Shippee Banquet Room)
8:15 am: Opening Remarks, (OYCF President, Junling Ma)
8:25 am: Panel Overview, Lei Guang (Organization Committee Co-Chair)
(Note: All panel discussions take place in the Shippee Banquet Room)
8:30 am – 10:15 am:
Panel 1: Power and Political Participation in the countryside
Speakers:
· Wei Shan, Ph.D Candidate, Political Science, Texas A&M University “Bargaining for less democracy: the role of the state in grassroots elections in China”
· Shiru Wang [王世茹], Ph.D Candidate in political science, Yale University, “Local democracy under a single-party rule: the Party adapts to electoral politics in rural China”
· Pierre Landry, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Yale University, “Grievances and disputes against the Chinese state in rural China”
Chair/Discussants:
· Yumin Sheng [盛裕敏], Assistant Professor, Wayne State University
· Zhengxu Wang [王正绪], Ph.D. candidate, Political Science, U of Michigan
10:15 am-10:30 am: Coffee Break
10:30 am-12:00 am:
Panel 2: Unruly Rural Society and Contentious Politics
Speakers
· Ethan Michelson, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Indiana University, Bloomington, “Justice from above or justice from below? Social limits to petitioning the state in rural China”
· Jianrong Yu (于建嵘), Senior researcher, Chinese Social Science Academy, “当代中国农民维权抗争的行动取向” (The orientation of peasant protest in contemporary China)
Chair/Discussants:
· Yang Su [苏阳], Assistant Professor of Sociology, UC-Irvine
· Dongtao Qi [祁东涛], Ph.D. Candidate in sociology, Stanford University
12:15 pm – 2:00 pm Lunch Break (South Dining Hall)
2:00 pm – 3:45 pm:
Panel 3: Taxes and Informal Institutions in Rural China
Speakers:
· Wu Zhang, Ph.D Candidate, Political Science, Cornell University, “Tax for fee reform in rural China”
· Qin Hui (秦晖), Professor of History, Qinghua University“税费改革: 走出‘黄宗羲定律’?”(Tax and fee reform: escaping the ‘Huang Zongxi law’)
· Lily Tsai, Assistant Professor of Political Science, MIT, “The struggle for village public goods provision: informal institutions and accountability in rural China”
Chair/Discussants:
· Qunjian Tian [田群健], Assistant Professor of Political Science, Connecticut College
· Xiaobo Lu [吕晓波], Associate Professor of Political Science, Barnard College and Columbia University
3:45 am – 4:00 am: Coffee Break
4:00 pm – 5:15 pm:
Panel 4: China’s Agricultural and Rural Development after the WTO
Speaker:
· Scott Rozelle [罗思高], Professor of Economics, UC-Davis and (HUANG Jikun, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences), “China’s agricultural and rural development in the new era: challenges and opportunities for 1 billion farmers”
Chair/Discussant:
· Dr. Hehui Jin [金河辉], Economist, Quantifi Solutions, NJ
5:15 pm: Reception with Speakers
6:00 pm: Dinner (South Dining Hall)
7:30 pm: State of OYCF Report by the OYCF Board
OYCF Annual Election
Sunday, May 29, 2005
7:45 am Breakfast (Shippee Banquet Room)
8:30 am – 9:45 am:
Panel 5: Traditional Village and Agricultural Modernization
Speakers:
· Xie Youtien [谢幼田], independent author, “The demise of traditional village in China”
· Yao Jianfu [姚监复], Former Senior Researcher, Rural Development Center, State Council, Beijing “中国农业现代化的旷日持久的追求”(The long road to China’s agricultural modernization)
Chair/Discussants:
· Ting Lu [陆挺], Ph.D. Candidate, Economics, UC Berkeley
· Dr. Junfu Zhang [张俊富], Public Policy Institute of California
9:45 am – 11:00 am:
Panel 6. De-naturalizing the Village: History, Tradition and New Agrarian Issues
Speakers:
· Helen Siu [萧凤霞], Professor of Anthropology, Yale University, “Chinese village: the original trans-local society and its modern fate”
· Tim Oakes, Associate Professor of Geography, University of Colorado, Boulder, “Village theme parks: how rural Chinese are negotiating the tyranny of heritage”
· Lei Guang [光磊], Associate Professor of Political Science, San Diego State University, “The new agrarian question: critique of san-nong discourse”
Chair/Discussants:
· Zhen Wang, Ph.D student, Political Science, University of Minnesota
· Yu Liu, Ph.D. Candidate, Political Science, Columbia University
11:00 am – 11:15 am: Coffee Break
11:15 am – 12:30 am:
Panel 7: Land Politics, Land Economics and Social Security in Rural China
Speakers:
· You-tien Hsing [邢幼田], Associate Professor of Geography, UC Berkeley, “Contesting land rights at rural-urban interface”
· James Wen [文贯中], Professor of Economics, Trinity College, "Farm size determination and its implication on full-time farmers' income"
· Mingjiang Li, Ph.D candidate in political science, Boston University, “Social security in rural China: political and institutional barriers”
Chair/Discussants:
· Yan Li [李艳], Ph.D. candidate, Sociology, Stanford University
· Chi Zhang [张弛], Ph.D candidate, Sociology, Yale University
12:30 pm – 2:30 pm: Lunch (South Dining Hall)
2:30 pm – 3:45 pm:
Panel 8: Village Doctors, Health Behavior and Access to Rural Healthcare
Speakers:
· Peter Liang, Fulbright scholar and MD student, Harvard University, “Economic development and the role of village doctors: Lessons from the field”
· Bei Wu [吴蓓], Assistant Professor, Center on Aging, School of Medicine, West Virginia University, “Comparison of health behavior between rural and urban residents in China”
Chair/Discussants:
· Yan Sun [孙雁], Associate Professor, Political Science, City University of New York-Queens College and Graduate School
· Dr. Hongping Tian [田红平], Program Officer for Health Programs, Yale-China Association
3:45-3:50 pm: Concluding Remarks
4:00 pm: Philadelphia Cup (Volleyball Team Competition)
6:00 pm-12:00 am: Dinner & Celebration Party (South Dining Hall, and social afterwards at the Abagails Lounge in Nathan Hale Inn)
Monday, May 30, 2005
7:30 am Breakfast (Rome Community Room)
OYCF meetings/Outing
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OYCF 2005 Annual Meeting
Organization Committee
Li Chen (Storrs, CT)
Laura Diao Qin (Boston, MA)
Lei Guang (San Diego, CA) (Co-chair)
Jing He (Hong Kong)
Hao Jiang (New York, NY)
Hehui Jin (Princeton, NJ)
Ling Li (New York, NY)
Yan Li (Stanford, CA)
Zhenjie Li (Storrs, CT)
Feng Liang (Berkeley, CA)
Yu Liu (New York, NY)
Ting Lu (Berkeley, CA)
Junling Ma (Irvine, CA) (Co-Chair)
Yongjun Ni (New York, NY)
Dongtao, Qi (Stanford, CA)
Yang Su (Irvine, CA)
Su Sun (Washington, DC)
Yinmei Wan (Ann Arbor, Michigan)
Charles Wang (Boston, MA)
Hai Wang (Beijing)
Zhengxu Wang (Ann Arbor, Michigan)
Duan Wu (Boston, MA)
Qianli Wu (Rockville, MD)
Xujun Ying (New York, NY)
Ningning Zhang (Storrs, CT)
Ian Zhao (Boston, MA)
Lu Zheng (Stanford, CA)
Zili Zhuang (Philadelphia, PA)
Hao Zou (San Francisco, CA)
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