Government and Politics

WorldChanging: Responsibility rests on local governments

Mara Hvistendahl from WorldChanging comments on the impending shifts of power in China as the National Party Congress convenes in Beijing this week.

“National government gets most of the attention outside China, inside the country policy enforcement is mostly the responsibility of local governments,” she says. “When the central government unveils a forward-thinking policy (and it sometimes does), it has to battle these local authorities, who are typically more concerned with growth than with environmental protection.”

She offers three examples of how individuals and local, municipal authorities can make a difference in fighting China’s pollution. Read about them here.

• Rethinking Change in China
  WorldChanging
  By Mara Hvistendahl
  October 15, 2007

What lessons can we take away from these cases? Sending a few hundred dollars to Qinghai has more impact on environmental and rural development than installing a representative in Beijing. And in fighting pollution, publicity is crucial. As local governments court outside investment, they don’t want to be branded as polluted. Wu Lihong made his case by tipping off the government-owned Central China Television (CCTV) and other national outlets, but international exposure is, in most cases, worse. (It will be interesting to see whether The New York Times piece has any further effect on Wuxi. Hopefully it will help Wu.)

More broadly, such examples show that China is not monolithic — that small-scale efforts can make a difference. Relationships with the authorities are still important. But the old social change mantra might be revised for China: think nationally, act locally.

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