Abstract
As a key variable in explaining economic and social development in China, local government innovation has attracted considerable attention in the studies of Chinese government and politics. The previous research has mostly focused on two forms of local government innovation: “spontaneous exploration” and “top-down experimentation”. Since the 18th National Congress of CPC, spontaneous exploration has been restricted in terms of scope, range and possibility; however, there emerges a new form of innovation different from spontaneous exploration and top-down experimentation – “seeking approval”. This new form has been empirically demonstrated by Hunan, Shandong, Shanxi, Zhejiang provinces and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and is likely to become a new trend of local government innovation in China. As a hybrid model of spontaneous exploration and top-down experimentation, “seeking approval” brings the informal interaction between local and upper-level governments into formal government process, and it is a possible path for positive interaction of “top-level design” and “local exploration”. It may further distinguish the authoritative boundary of different levels of governments in practice and restructure a new vertical intergovernmental relationship. That is to say, the allocation of government power would be based on the distribution of responsibility, centralizing and (or) decentralizing power as the responsibilities go.
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Notes
- 1.
In this chapter, “upper-level governments” means people’s governments and their departments at provincial level and above, and “local governments” means people’s governments and their departments at municipal level and below.
- 2.
According to Sebastian Heilmann (2008a), CPC innovative experimentation can be traced back to the Period of Land Reform during 1928–1943. The experiments with alternative approaches to land reform that were undertaken by Mao Zedong in Jinggangshan and by Deng Zihui in Minxi in 1928 constitute a pioneering experience for later Communist land policy.
- 3.
Since its fifth session, “Chinese Local Government Innovation Award” has been independently held by Center for Chinese Government Innovation, Peking University.
- 4.
In later period, the eighth “Chinese Local Government Innovation Award” was renamed the eighth “Best Practice in China Government Innovation.”
- 5.
In October 2014, the delegation of State Commission Office for Public Sectors Reform visited Jiaxing City for survey about this reform. In October 2015, People’s Government of Zhejiang Province held a promotion conference about comprehensive administrative law enforcement for Zhejiang Province in Jiashan County, Jiaxing City, to summarize and promote Jiaxing City’s experience. In March 2016, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of the People’s Republic of China and the Office of Housing and Urban-Rural Development in Zhejiang Province carried out a special survey about the comprehensive administrative law enforcement reform in Jiaxing City. It can be seen that the comprehensive administrative law enforcement reform in Jiaxing City shows the high manifestation and influence across China.
- 6.
When we conducted a survey in Zeguo Township, Wenling City, Zhejiang Province in August 2015, the president of People’s Congress Presidium of Zeguo Township repeatedly mentioned a speech of the director of the People’s Congress Standing Committee of Wenling City in a closing ceremony of municipal people’s congress. In this speech, the director gave oral support for “Democratic Consultation” work of the People’s Congress of Zeguo Township. The president believed that the director’s approval was of great importance to the subsequent innovation practice.
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Yu, J., Huang, B. (2019). Mapping the Progress of Local Government Innovation in Contemporary China. In: Yu, J., Guo, S. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Local Governance in Contemporary China. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2799-5_6
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