Readings for Unit 8, Environmental Consciousness

Wednesday, March 3

Abigail Jahiel, "The Organization of Environmental Protection in China," in Edmonds, Managing the Chinese Environment
Michael Palmer, "Environmental Regulation in the People's Republic of China," in Edmonds, Managing the Chinese Environment
Lester Ross, "China: Environmental Protection...." in Edmonds, Managing the Chinese Environment

These sources explore the legal and policy framework for environmental regulation in China, and represent the official side of environmentalism. When reading them, think of the possible conflicts between policy and policy implementation.

Monday, March 8
Seth Dunn, Taking a green leap forward: in China, an environmental group moves into the mainstream,The Amicus Journal, Winter 1997.
Explore the Friends of Nature website, for an example of a Chinese environmental organization, and fan out from this site to the sites or descriptions of other Chinese environmental NGOs.

These websites explore one possibility for environmental awareness in China outside of official policy, but still with official approval. Keep in mind that most of these organizations have explicit governmental approval. That doesn't mean they are stooges. It just means they are engaging in rather safe action.

Jun Jing, "Environmental protests in rural China," in Elizabeth J. Perry and Mark Selden, eds., Chinese Society: Change, Conflict, and Resistance
Robert P. Weller, "Forms of Association and Social Action," chapter 6 inAlternate Civilities: Democracy and Culture in China and Taiwan.

These sources explore the possibility of popular, not officially sanctioned, environmentalism in China. Jing reports real cases where Chinese authorities have at least taken protests seriously; Weller's example from Taiwan asks what might happen if Chinese people had actual freedom of expression, or how they might take a step toward freedom of expression by engaging in environmental activism.

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