Community-based Resistance: The Cases of Anti-incinerator Contention in Guangzhou and Beijing

• In Event: Governing Civic Engagement in China

Abstract

This paper compares two cases of anti-incinerator contention at community level in contemporary China, with one from Guangzhou and another from Beijing. The comparison will focus on community mobilization, contentious strategy, and the resulting change of state-society relationship.

In the case of Panyu Guangzhou, more than 10 thousand local residents were mobilized through internet communication. So it lacked organizational coordination. This contention escalated in a street protest of around one thousand participants. It made use of the political opportunity opened up by the government’s “appeal reception day” (thus was legitimate). Such street protest was then amplified by the relatively free media environment in Guangzhou. Eventually the local government delayed and changed the original construction plan.

In comparison, in the case in Asuwei Beijing, the 4 community involved was all small and the dwellers were upper middle class. An organization was thus easier to form. The contention started also with a street protest, but was immediately cracked down. The organization soon changed the strategy by turning to communicating with the government. Mr. Huang, a resident representative, became local residents’ spokesman and developed close interaction with local officials. He successfully created an image on the media that the local government was willing to work with the society. With such an image, the local government later found difficult to crack down on them and eventual abandoned the original construction plan.

Author

• Szu-chien Hsu, Academia Sinica