"Chinese Civil Society in 2014: Consultation, Cooptation, or Repression?" with Shawn Shieh

The Sigur Institute presents Shawn Shieh. Drawing on his experiences working for China Development Brief and China Labour Bulletin, Shieh discusses recent developments and what they say about the future of civil society in China.

The year 2014 has been a difficult one for Chinese civil society. Rights lawyers, bloggers, public intellectuals, and NGOs working on a wide range of issues have been harassed, detained and arrested or closed down. Coming on the heels of the 2013 Third Plenum Decision, with its optimistic rhetoric about rule of law and social governance, these recent developments have raised questions about the Xi administration's approach to dealing with China's growing and increasingly vocal civil society. Drawing on his experiences working for China Development Brief and China Labour Bulletin, Shieh discusses recent developments and what they say about the future of civil society in China.

Shawn Shieh is Deputy Director of China Labour Bulletin, a Hong Kong-based labor rights NGO that trains Chinese workers on labor organizing, and formerly the founder and director of China Development Brief (English), a Beijing-based NGO that reports on China's civil society sector. Shawn received his Ph.D. in political science from Columbia University and has been researching and writing on China's civil society since 2006. His publications include State and Society Responses to Social Welfare Needs in China (2009), "An Emerging Civil Society: The Impact of the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake on Grassroots Associations in China" (2011), New Trends in Philanthropy and Civil Society (2011), "The Roles and Challenges of International NGOs in China's Development" (2012), Directory of Chinese NGOs (2013), "Winning Back Half the Sky: Chinese Women and Gender Groups in China on the Eve of Beijing+20 (2014), and "Mapping the Dynamics of Civil Society in China" (forthcoming). He has a blog devoted to NGOs in China at www.ngochina.blogspot.com. 

This is a brown bag event. Beverages will some refreshments will be provided.

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