Chinese State and the Emerging Philanthropic Culture: A Case Study of the Hope Schools

Abstract

After communism, collectivization for the communal good had meant that the individuals within the community would be taken care by the state and its associated structures. In a way, this could be construed of as a nation-wide public philanthropic movement implemented and supported by the Chinese state. However, the 1978 reform and open door policy has resulted in a neo-liberal market oriented economy and led to an emergence of a small group of wealthy business elites and an expanding middle class. Associated with this is the rise of individualism and social inequalities. The recent spades of protests by workers, villagers, students and patients are grievances pointing towards unequal treatment of them by the local, regional and national government and their failure to tackle the root problem of inequality in workplace, school and hospital. These protests are directed at big corporations and wealthy individuals who made it good through the state patronage system. To address this issue of inequality, one strategy by the state is to promote a philanthropic culture and encourage private wealthy individuals and large corporations to engage in philanthropy. This paper will explore how the Chinese State, through the Communist Youth League (CYL) Central Committee and the China Youth Development Foundation, established Project Hope and build Hope schools in rural China. Through this project, the Chinese State, along with the policies and legislation, encourages and incorporates wealthy individuals and corporations into these philanthropic activities. Finally, it will also examine how these individual philanthropists and corporations negotiate their roles in this newly emerged philanthropic culture.