The Transformation of Chinese Civil Associations in Taiwan, Hong Kong and South China

In this chapter, we examine the forces that have shaped civic life in three Chinese societies with contrasting economic and political histories-Taiwan, Hong Kong and the People’s Republic of China. 1 Our primary concentration is the area of public life that extends beyond the immediate family but stops short of the formal political arena, from football clubs to philanthropic non-governmental organizations (NGOs). We are especially concerned with the interplay among the indigenous precursors of this sector (more or less shared in each of our cases), the globalizing forces that have tended to remake and homogenize it (again, shared) and the intervening influence of the state (quite different in each case). Ultimately, we hope to assess the significance of these groups in the promotion of political change.