Third Sector Organizations: A Form of Law Enforcement in China
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Third Sector Organizations: A Form of Law Enforcement in China Toby Ho1 Many think that the ‘third sector’ generally refers to an intermediary between the government and the private sector, in which there are a considerable number of social organizations (eg associations, professions, guilds) to provide various kinds of social service for society. In contrast, there has been little reference to it as a form of law enforcement. This paper argues that China has traditionally regarded the third sector organization as a form of law enforcement, and this practice has continued in modern China, even in the People’s Republic of China. Although such sector organizations are generally recognized as a kind of intermediary to provide for social services, it is argued that, historically as well as contemporarily, China has regarded these organizations as a form of enforcement for crime prevention and community safety. Key Words: China; third sector organizations; danwei; law enforcement Introduction
Many scholars have described the development of third sector organizations (TSOs) in Western countries (Brilliant, 1973; Etzioni, 1973; Ginzberg et al, 1965; Levitt, 1973; McGill and Wooton, 1975; Nielsen, 1979; Rockefeller, 1978). These organizations are generally regarded as intermediaries, providing for various kinds of social services for society. However, despite the considerable level of development of the third sector in these countries, there has been little analysis of the third sector in relation to China’s landscape. Essentially, China’s TSOs have played a dual role: they act not only as social service providers but also as social watchmen; in the latter respect, TSOs in China may be seen by Western standards as a form of law enforcement. Such a dual function is not unique to China: a similar situation obtained after 1917 in the Soviet Union. What is different is that China, traditionally as well as contemporarily, has treated TSOs as agencies of law enforcement to aid in crime prevention and to maintain community safety. Traditionally, TSOs were run under various forms of structural control, which changed over different eras. For instance, a well-known type of structural control is the Sung dynasty’s baojia system. In modern China,2 TSOs developed into various forms of auto-organizations. They engaged in maintaining social order for the government in general, and in particular in providing their own groups with social services. In the People’s Republic of China (PRC), TSOs were found in ‘auxiliary institutions’ such as enterprises, trade unions and different grass-roots organizations (Chan, A., 1993; 1995; Chan, C., 1993; O’Leary, 1992; Walder, 1986; 1992). In Chinese usage, these auxiliary institutions are called ‘work-units’ (danwei). Linz and Stepan (1992) argue that society is composed of the auxiliary institutions of the ruling body, and that the primary purpose of these institutions is to oversee its people.
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Crime Prevention and Community Safety: An International
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