Table of Content

15 January 2023, Volume 39 Issue 1

Previous Issue    Next Issue

A New Form of Chinese State Governance

Zhang Wenxian

2023, 39(1):  4-27. 

Asbtract ( 302 )   HTML ( 239)   PDF (1151KB) ( 357 )  

References | Related Articles | Metrics

Achieving scientific and effective national governance in a developing socialist country is a difficult goal left to the CPC by history， the times， and the people. After a hundred years of struggle and exploration， the CPC has led the Chinese people to open a new road to the modernization of Chinese-style national governance， created a new form of Chinese style national governance， and scientifically answered the questions of history， the people， and the world about the governance of China. The new path and new form of the modernization of Chinese style national governance can be summarized as “ten insistences”. They are： adhering to the overall leadership and long-term governance of the CPC， adhering to the people's democracy throughout the process， adhering to the people's congress system， adhering to the multi-party cooperation and political consultation system led by the CPC， adhering to the organic unity of the leadership of the Party， the people's ownership of the country， and the rule of law， and adhering to the unitary national system with Chinese characteristics. We must continue to empower national governance with digitalization， promote domestic and international governance in a coordinated manner， comprehensively and strictly govern the Party and follow the rules， and promote the modernization of national governance on the track of the rule of law.

Global Ecological Governance from the Perspective of a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind

Li Baogeng, Geng Kexin

2023, 39(1):  28-39. 

Asbtract ( 328 )   HTML ( 25)   PDF (1022KB) ( 287 )  

References | Related Articles | Metrics

The deterioration of the environment poses a serious threat to the survival and development of human beings. Global ecological governance also faces practical difficulties such as a lack of fair value appeals， conflicts of interest between governance subjects， and “deficits” of responsibility in governance. From this perspective， global ecological governance imagined as a community with a shared future for mankind breaks through the limitations of regional space and sovereign states. It calls on all countries in the world to adhere to the concept of green development as a process of governance that aids sustainable development. This includes adhering to the principles of consultation， co-construction， common but differentiated responsibilities， sharing， practicing true multilateralism， and combining historical responsibilities and national realities. These basic concepts seek to ensure a harmonious coexistence between man and nature that can only come from jointly building a clean and beautiful earth home. By guiding global ecological governance with the concept of community that shares a future for all mankind， we can reshape global ecological values and create ecological consensus. The work required to achieve these goals includes reconstructing the global concept of ecological interests to realize benefit sharing. We must bring back the concept of ecological responsibility and demonstrated responsibility， so that we might join hands with all countries to build a beautiful home on earth. Our country can contribute Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to solve the dilemma of global ecological governance.

The Logic of Digital Technology Driving the Territorial Operation of Bureaucratic Organizations：A Case Study of the “Four Platforms of Grassroots Governance” in Zhejiang Province

Tang Jinghua

2023, 39(1):  40-52. 

Asbtract ( 374 )   HTML ( 27)   PDF (1127KB) ( 467 )  

Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

Digital technology drives the operations of bureaucratic organizations. But how? Based on the case of Zhejiang Province’s “Four Platforms of Grassroots Governance” ， this paper uses “territorial operation” to explore the tendency of digital government’s operational logic to allow technology to drive bureaucratic organizations to construct decision-making and action strategies according to modular or systematic thinking， which helps strengthen government’s overall response to real problems. This transformation manifests by changing the action mode from segmentation to integration， changing the organizational relationship from linear connections to an interactive network， changing the value pursuit from departmental performance to overall efficiency， etc. “Territorial operations” transcends the departmentalized operations of traditional bureaucratic organizations， which helps to enhance the government's response to complex social problems. Such modifications are not easily achieved. They face the constraints of bureaucratic inertia， the application of digital technology， and the tension between technology simplicity and reality complexity. The territorial operational logic expands the research perspective of digital government governance as well as provides a new explanatory framework for understanding the transformation of bureaucratic organizations driven by digital technology.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution and “Digital Space” Government

Mi Jianing, Peng Kangjun, Sun Yuan

2023, 39(1):  53-67. 

Asbtract ( 287 )   HTML ( 17)   PDF (1292KB) ( 255 )  

Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

As the Fourth Industrial Revolution evolves， emerging technologies such as big data， cloud computing， and artificial intelligence have cleared the way for a “digital space” outside physical space and human society. This is not only a phenomenon of technological revolution， but also a profound social change， which has a subversive impact on the form of government and governance mode. Through the inherent logical analysis of the evolution and development of government form and governance mode， the Fourth Industrial Revolution has become an important opportunity to reconstruct the theories and methods of government governance in the new era. During this period， China became the “social experimental field” of the Fourth Industrial Revolution by virtue of its unparalleled advantages， and it continued to shape the government form and governance mode of the “digital space”. As a new form of national governance， “digital space” government needs to constantly and timely adjust its value orientation， the orientation of the relationship between the government and social subjects as well as the mode of government existence and service supply. The ultimate goal should be to respond productively to the modernization of the nation’s governance system and its governance abilities as the times change.

How does Policy Pilots Turn into Suspension： Based on Case Study of the Reform of Property Tax Pilots

Yang Hongshan, Zhang Jianpei

2023, 39(1):  68-80. 

Asbtract ( 322 )   HTML ( 11)   PDF (1323KB) ( 157 )  

Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

China's reform has always been accompanied by large-scale pilot policies. For those pilot programs that had no diffusion effect， local governments would not stop them. As a result， these pilot programs go around in circles， forming a unique phenomenon of pilot suspension. This study proposes an explanatory framework that pilot suspension is the product of the combined effects of local reformers' demands for political promotion， the self-weakening effect of pilot feedback， the restraining effect of inter-governmental learning， and the legitimacy of pilot decisions. Pilot suspension consumes administrative resources， and valuable knowledge production is stagnant， which does not help to improve perceptions of uncertainty. To improve the effectiveness of pilot-driven knowledge production， we should not only provide balanced incentive arrangements to stimulate innovation by local governments， but also improve pilot trial designs and evaluation modes， put forward framework goals， set time-limit requirements， and establish reporting， peer review， and reputation incentive systems.

Research on the Construction of Dual Leadership System of Local Financial Supervision from the Perspective of Tiao-kuai Relationship

Li Youxing, Pan Zheng

2023, 39(1):  81-94. 

Asbtract ( 247 )   HTML ( 8)   PDF (1335KB) ( 184 )  

References | Related Articles | Metrics

For local finance， China has established a two-tier regulatory system of central and local decentralized supervision. However， this system lacks a “single line of communication” for local governments to express their ideas and suffers from an unbalanced allocation of regulatory powers and responsibilities. China's existing state management system， the structure of central and local affairs distribution， China's Tiao-kuai relationships， and the core institutional requirements of the “centralized leadership” of local financial supervision， have all led to a system of local financial supervision that can only develop and improve along the direction of dual leadership. This requires the establishment of a local financial department within the State Council at the central government level to assume local financial supervision and management authority. Such a body must clarify the specific responsibilities of local financial supervision and the risk management of local governments， with the goal of smoothing the top-down management pattern from the central to the local level.

The Advantages of the Leadership of the Communist Party of China

Qi Weiping

2023, 39(1):  95-107. 

Asbtract ( 221 )   HTML ( 7)   PDF (1017KB) ( 222 )  

References | Related Articles | Metrics

The leadership of the Communist Party of China is the country's national governance system，because it promotes and expands the Chinese-style modernization that gives full play to the advantages of party leadership. Over the past decade of the new era， the CPC Central Committee， with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core， has adhered to and improved the nation’s socialist system with Chinese characteristics， promoted the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity， and created the successful experience of “governance in China” led by the Communist Party of China. The leadership of the Party embodies the notable advantages of national governance in such aspects as direction guidance， system standardization， system systematization， capacity modernization， field coverage， and integration of resources. As the struggle to write a new chapter in the overall construction of a modern socialist country continues， we will unswervingly promote and expand the modernization of the Chinese style of governance. As this comprehensively advances the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through the modernization of the Chinese style of governance， it will also create a new form of human civilization and promote the modernization of state governance through superior practice.

Effects of Social Norm Nudges on Household Waste Separation： A Field Experiment

Ling Maoliang, Xu Lin

2023, 39(1):  108-124. 

Asbtract ( 389 )   HTML ( 12)   PDF (3054KB) ( 207 )  

Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

Chinese governments are vigorously promoting household waste separation， but rely mainly on awareness campaigns and economic incentives. Relatively few studies have examined the effects of nudge strategies on household waste separation. Using data from a large-scale field experiment in Q City of Zhejiang Province， China， this study evaluates the effects of social norm nudges on residents’ waste sorting behavior. Such strategies are typically designed to compare an individual’s behavioral level with that of other social members （e.g.， neighbors） and reveal the social approval of the target behavior. The results show that social norm strategies increased household participation in waste sorting， with greater influence among people with weak pro-environmental preferences or social capital. They also produced long-lasting effects after they were discontinued. Further evidence suggests that social norm nudges were more cost-effective compared with traditional policy strategies. These findings demonstrate the high efficiency of social norm strategies and contribute to a nuanced understanding of the mechanisms underlying nudge policies.

Multiple Synergy and Grassroots Sinking： Research on the Grassroots Level Practice of Chinese Urban Cultural Governance

Song Daolei, Guo Sujian

2023, 39(1):  125-135. 

Asbtract ( 243 )   HTML ( 13)   PDF (1074KB) ( 408 )  

References | Related Articles | Metrics

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China， urban cultural governance has received increasing attention from academic circles. China's urban cultural governance has gradually transformed from a government-led model to a model of the coordinated participation of multiple subjects. The spatial practice mechanism of urban cultural governance is also changing. The multiple coordinated governance network， which is composed of political party leadership， government responsibility， social participation， and citizen autonomy， allows urban cultural governance to percolate to the grassroots. With China’s large-scale urban cultural infrastructure， it is possible for urban cultural governance to reach a city's smaller grassroots spaces. The practice of urban cultural governance with the participation of multiple subjects has promoted the urban grass-roots blocks and communities to become cultural spaces that meet the needs of ordinary citizens. These important spatial places have allowed urban cultural governance to expand to the grass-roots level.

On the Judicial Evidence Reasoning of Artificial Lntelligence

Zhuo Xiang, Cui Shiqun

2023, 39(1):  136-156. 

Asbtract ( 277 )   HTML ( 3)   PDF (1141KB) ( 267 )  

Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

At present， Artificial Intelligence （AI） is involved in judicial evidence reasoning and has aroused widespread concern. AI is still “top-down” in that its logical reasoning is good， but it cannot completely simulate human cognitive thinking. It operates in an auxiliary position in judicial evidence reasoning where its advantages include massive data screening and positioning， efficient and consistent operation of algorithms， but its include evidence information extraction， evidence language transformation， legal thinking simulation， judicial experience learning， etc. As an auxiliary to the judicial process， AI helps with sorting evidence materials， provides early warnings for evidence information loss， and creates both pre-guidance and post-correction for evidentiary reasoning. At the same time， AI should be principled so that the judiciary can provide intelligent trials； the AI algorithms should be equally available and public； and， there are limited restrictions on machine-aided judicial evidence reasoning. Such an AI auxiliary system must also let AI participate in the evidence reasoning of different types of cases and different stages of litigation in a reasonable manner such that each matter has the proper AI tools. Through the complementary advantages of artificial intelligence and human judges， the fairness and efficiency dividends of judicial work will open a new chapter in judicial trials in the new era.