婦女參與中國精英政治 - 政大學術集成

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(1)WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION IN CHINESE ELITE POLITICS. by Oumie Sissokho. A THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS. 立. 政 in 治大. ‧ 國. 學. INTERNATIONAL MASTER’S PROGRAM IN INTERNATIONAL STUDIES. ‧. National Chengchi University. Nat. n. al. er. io. sit. y. July 2014. Advisor: Wen-Yang Chang, PhD.. Ch. engchi. i n U. v.

(2) Abstract: Women’s participation in politics is an important requirement for gender equality. China’s economic reform has brought massive improvements in the social and economic sectors of the country. However, the regime’s monopoly of power, political culture and economic reasons in combination with other socio-cultural factors has resulted to continuous domination of women in China’s political life. This study has employed a secondary research approach in combination with a reasonable data quantity covering 1977 to 2013 on the presence of women in selected top political institutions. The study finds out that women are under-represented across the political board but worst in top government (elite) and party institutions. This means that, at the state level, politics remains a domain for men and there exist a stern masculine monopoly over party institutions also. Where women are genuinely found, such as the parliament, their presence only serves as a source of meeting an important global or domestic requirement in the interest of the Chinese Communist Party than a true sense of gender equality or exercise of an equal right (between men and women) in determining the affairs of their society.. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. Key words: China; Women; Elite politics/institutions; Political participation; Chinese Communist Party. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v.

(3) Table of Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................................... ii Dedication ............................................................................................................................................................ iii. List of acronyms and abbreviations ……………………………………………………………………………………………… iii List of tables and graphs……………….………………………………………………………………………………………………. iv Chapter 1 ....................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction............................................................................................................................................................... 1 Organization of research ...................................................................................................................................... 5 Methodology ....................................................................................................................................................... 7 Justifications and questions ................................................................................................................................ 7 Limitations........................................................................................................................................................... 9. 政治大. Overview of women’s political status from a global perspective ....................................................................... 9. 立. Overview of women’s political status from a Chinese perspective .................................................................. 13. ‧ 國. 學. Chapter 2 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 16 Literature review ..................................................................................................................................................... 16 Factors that shaped women’s political position in china…………………………………………………………………………………….16. ‧. Chapter 3 …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 37. y. Nat. Section 1 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 38. sit. The social and Economic Status of Women since the reform ………………………………………………………………………. 38. al. er. io. Section 2 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 42 The Fourth World Conference on Women (FWCW) and Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)…………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 42. n. iv n C Chapter 4 .................................................................................................................................................................... 50 hengchi U The participation of women in state institutions ................................................................................................... 50. Chapter 5 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 77 The Participation of women in party institutions.................................................................................................... 77 Chapter 6 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 94 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................................... 94 Findings……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 94 Policy suggestions …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………100 Research implications, weaknesses and further work ………………………….……………………………………………………….. 105 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................................... 107.

(4) Acknowledgements: This work is as a result of the generous scholarship I received from the Taiwan ICDF for my graduate program. I am indeed grateful for the gesture. I am indebted to the valued support and sincere guidance I received from my supervisor, Professor Wen-Yang Chang. It is through his continuous guidance, concern for performance and quality that I am able to finish this work. To the rest of my committee members, thank you for the scrutiny, your concern for a high-standard academic exercise and your frankness. These actions and qualities have motivated me even further. To my family, your continuous prayers and concern, throughout my life has indeed contributed to the successful end of this work. I am grateful for the love and care. Pa, your sense of humor and pressure has motivated me to do more.. 政治大. To all my friends, course-mates in IMPIS, faculty and staff, thank you for providing me with experiences beyond many borders.. 立. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. I declare that all errors, inconsistencies and limitations in this work bear my personal responsibility.. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v.

(5) Dedication:. To Grandma. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v.

(6) LIST OF ABRREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ACWF. All China Women’s Federation. BD. Beijing Declaration. BPA. Beijing Platform for Action. CCP. Chinese Communist Party. CCCCP/CC. Central Committee of the of the Communist Party of China. CPPCC. Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. CEDAW. Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women. FWCW. Fourth World Conference on Women. IPU. Inter-Parliamentary Union. NDI. National Democratic Institute. NPC. National People’s Congress. PB. Politburo. PBSC. Politburo Standing Committee. PRC. People’s Republic of China. UN. United Nations. UNICEF. United Nations Children’s Fund. UNDP. United Nations Development Program. UNIFEM. United Nations. 學 ‧. ‧ 國. 立. 政治大. n. engchi. er. io. Ch. sit. y. Nat. al. i n U. v. UN WOMEN UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women; also United Nations Fund for Women WB. World Bank or the The Bank.

(7) LIST OF TABLES AND GRAPH. Table 1: Composition of the National People’s Congress 1978-2013, page 56 Table 2: Composition of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress 1978-2013, page 56 Table 3: List of Chairpersons of the National People’s Congress 1978-2013, page 57 Table 4: Composition of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference 1978-2013, page 64 Table 5: Composition of the Standing Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference 1978-2013, page 64 Table 6: List of Chairpersons of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference 1978-2013, page 65. 政治大. Table 7: State Council Ministers 1978-2013, page 73. 立. Table 8: Standing Committee of the State Council, page 73. ‧ 國. 學. Table 9: List of Premiers of the State Council, page 1976-2013, page 74. Table 10: Composition of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, page 79. ‧. Table 11, Composition of the Politburo, page 85 Table 12, Composition of the Politburo Standing Committee, page 89. y. Nat. n. er. io. al. sit. Graph 1, Summary of women in elite political institutions, page 95. Ch. engchi. i n U. v.

(8) CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Around the world, there is a serious gender-gap in politics. 1 Feminist Katherine MacKinnon says “the state is male” in its totality by character, composition, action and even philosophy. Haney (1996) shares the same view that even though there is difference among the various Feminist schools about the location of masculinity within the state, there is general agreement that governments carry male “interests” and are modeled after traits associated with. 政治大. masculinity than femininity. In addition, the state in many countries of the world, new or old;. 立. civilized or a lack of it; developed or developing are dominated by men.. ‧ 國. 學. Disparity 2 in political participation is a deeply entrenched challenge that results to. ‧. inequality between men and women as rightful competitors to determine how their societies are. sit. y. Nat. governed (Markham, 2012; United Nations Women, 2011; Lawson 2008). The United Nations. io. er. Women assert that: “Women’s political participation is a fundamental prerequisite for gender equality and genuine democracy. [As] it facilitates women’s direct engagement in public. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. decision-making and is a means of ensuring better accountability to women” (UN Women 2009, para. 1).. engchi. In addition, Markham (2013) also argues that there is increased evidence that women’s active participation in governance guarantees a heterogenous representation across party and. 1. Politics and political participation in the context of this research means women’s ability of fully utilize their inherent human right of being able to participate as occupiers of competitive and non-competitive political offices based on qualification and national laws without any form of gender-based discrimination. 2 Around the world, voter registration is compulsory in more than half of the countries and they have legislations that prohibit gender discrimination in political participation but the lack of full and fair implementation of the law has resulted to various forms of discriminatory acts within the political sphere. See more details in Markham (2012).. 1.

(9) minority lines and contributes immensely towards matters of peace and security. Furthermore, she adds that there is scholarly evidence that women’s ability to freely and fairly participate in politics, especially, in top decision-making portfolios such as parliaments and ministries directly impact on positive budgeting on social sectors such as education, health, nutrition and infrastructure. However, despite the fact that there are several international agreements such as the Convention on the Political Rights of Women (1952), Convention on the Elimination of all. 政治大 Beijing Platform for Action (BPA) 立 (1995), and the Millennium Declaration (United Nations Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW 1979), Beijing Declaration (BD) and the. ‧ 國. 學. 2010) to provide equal rights and privileges for the full participation of women in politics and the fact that women make up nearly half of the global population, they still seriously lag behind men. ‧. with regards to the full enjoyment of the right to political determination of their societies. In a. sit. y. Nat. recent publication of the World Economic Forum, it reports that the gender gap in global politics. io. al. er. is at 21%, meaning an improvement of only nearly 2% between 2012 and 2013 (World. v. n. Economic Forum 2013). The truth is that men keep dominating over women in all sectors of the political spectrum.. Ch. engchi. i n U. Even advanced democracies did not give women an enjoyment of political rights at the same age with men. The United States only granted suffrage rights to white women in 1920 (Banazak 2006) and Great Britain in 1928 (Scholastic n.d.); while France did it in 1944 (france.fr n.d.); after fierce struggles mostly led by feminist movements. Even New Zealand, the oldest country to provide universal suffrage to women only did so one hundred and twenty one years ago (New Zealand History online 2014). In the IPU (2012) global ranking, the US merely has 18.3% of its Lower House and 20% Upper House members as women and the UK has 22.6% in 2.

(10) the Lower House and 23.4% in the Upper House thus again showing the lack of parity even in the most advanced democracies. In the words of MacKinnon (1989, 160): Gender is a social system that divides power. It is therefore a political system. That is, over time, women have been economically exploited, relegated to domestic slavery, forced into motherhood, sexually objectified, physically abused, used in denigrating entertainment, deprived of a voice and authentic culture, and disenfranchised and excluded from public life. Women, by contrast with. 政治大. comparable men, have systematically been subjected to physical insecurity, targeted for sexual denigration and violation; depersonalized and denigrated; deprived of respect, credibility, and. 立. resources; and silenced—and denied public presence, voice, and representation of their interests.. ‧ 國. 學. In many countries, this is either demonstrated at the grassroots levels where men are. ‧. traditionally looked upon as natural leaders. Also, at top-government levels, they (men) have better and more sustainable means of accessing opportunities that grant them political positions. y. Nat. io. sit. and institutions of politics such as parties, caucuses, political donors and sometimes the media. n. al. er. than their female counterparts. Even close by proximity and in some cases, as active members,. Ch. i n U. v. women still do not have equal voices and influences as men in those political organizations. engchi. hence their ability of contesting and control of positions of power could be hindered (IPU 2011). This limits their full participation to run as public officials or to objectively determine those who will represent their interests. This is because equality in political organizations is important gateway to the realm of power. In Empowering Women for Stronger Political Parties, the UNDP and NDI (2011, 1) thus note: Without access to establish networks of influence and with very limited resources, few role models and mentors, and sometimes even limited family and community support, it is. 3.

(11) understandable that women’s participation in political parties has remained well below that of men.. This has resulted to a domination of male influence in political organizations at the disadvantage of women. The phenomenon is not exceptionally a characteristic of a single civilization or geographical affiliation. Around the world, from Yemen to Myanmar, Kenya to the Vietnam, women are yet to fully attain equality with men in all aspects of life (World Economic Forum 2013), however, there are varying contexts about this situation within different countries argue Bullough, et al. (2012).. 立. 政治大. When China surprised the world by introducing radical economic reforms shortly after. ‧ 國. 學. the Mao era (Zheng, Guo and Zhao 2009; Fernandez n. d.), it has also taken an important status as a responsible global ‘player’ and sometimes serves as the ‘spokesperson’ for the developing. ‧. world. However, its political life remains a topic of contest among many commentators, some of. Nat. sit. y. whom have argued that the country’s economic advancement has little impact on its political. al. n. Li 2000).. er. io. system in general and the political status of women in particular (Tisdell 2009; Edwards 2007 &. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Anyway, scholars like Zheng, Guo & Zhao (2009), Lee (2009) Ma (2009) and Rosen (1995) have argued that the reformation has indeed relaxed the regime’s grip on certain social aspects or a stable decline of state control over society and an increased level of autonomy (Pei 2006). However, it must be noted that the regime still has immense control over the society and this is demonstrated in its sensitivity to information accessibility and how far dissident especially in political forms could be accepted. Prior to the reform, it could have been argued that the regime uses its communist ideology towards gender equality. It will be interesting to see if. 4.

(12) economic opening, reform and growth have paved opportunities for women’s greater engagement in the political process. Cornway (2001, 231) defines political participation as behaviors of citizens that seek to influence the combination, mechanism, organization and election of government personnel and rules that govern them. With such a public assignment and obligation, all citizens deserve equal participation and contribution in the public life of their nations without barriers. In this research, I will examine if China’s reform has a positive impact on the participation of women in politics. 政治大 women’s equal participation in立 top governance institutions. While it is generally assumed that. since 1978. This study proposes that the current Chinese political system has not increased. ‧ 國. 學. the state will relax its grip on crucial matters such as political freedom, Su (2006) argues that the Chinese regime still consolidates political power to itself. In fact, one could boldly argue that. ‧. political reformation and wide-based access to all levels of power is still a dream as long as the. sit. y. Nat. regime is run by the country’s “elitist technocrats” in Beijing. In the words of Louise Edwards. io. al. er. (2007, 383), “China is still an authoritarian, one party regime and the CCP is the overwhelming. v. n. and dominant political force- all formal action is mediated, controlled and authorized by the CCP”.. Ch. engchi. i n U. ORGANIZATION OF THE RESEARCH In analyzing the cause of the hypothesized systematic isolation of women from the country’s top political institutions (herein also called elite politics), I will employ both qualitative and quantitative evidences to support the argument of this study. This way, qualitative findings from scholarly works will be supported by quantitative data that are officially published by the. 5.

(13) government and or provided to the UN and its partners or other organizations, media reports and scholarly publications. Hence, the research chapters are outlined as follows: Chapter one provides the research introduction (background, objectives, justifications and methodology) and a global and country-level overview of women’s political situation. Chapter two provides the literature review on the subject drawing on various scholarly works from gender politics, sociology to feminist work on the topic. This part looks at women’s political position in contemporary China, discussing the traditional beliefs and practices,. 政治大. economic and political cultures that have shaped the position of women in politics.. 立. Chapter three is divided into two sections. The first one gives an overview of the impact. ‧ 國. 學. of the reform on the social and economic standing of women. The second part explores the. ‧. effects of the CEDAW and FWCW on China as the two most important gender equality tools the. sit. y. Nat. country accepted and or contributed to, within the period under review.. al. er. io. Chapters four and five look at selected elite institutions with regards to women’s access. n. iv n C U People’s Political Consultative hen the state or those not exclusive to the party alone. The g c h iChinese and their participation since China’s reform 3. Therefore, chapter four looks at organizations of. Conference (CPPCC), the State Council and the National Peoples’ Congress (NPC) are examined in this chapter. Chapter five provides an analysis of three key institutions of the party. The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCCCP), the Politburo (PB) and the Politburo Standing Committee (PBSC) are examined. In addition to the descriptive analysis, both chapters. 3. This approach is adapted from Rosen’s 1995 work.. 6.

(14) provide gender disaggregated data about their composition. The data begins in 1977/8 and ends in 2012/3 except otherwise stated 4. The concluding chapter (six) deals with the findings, recommendations and implications of the study. METHODOLOGY This research is methodologically qualitative. The study entirely depends on scholarly. 政治大 researcher will mostly rely on works from the perspectives of feminist scholars, gender politics 立. works on Chinese politics hence its takes a secondary-source approach. In addition, the. and a rights based-approach. Despite its qualitative nature, the study will constitute some. ‧ 國. 學. relevant quantitative data as discussed above. The use of modern historical incidents in China,. ‧. national policy instruments, available case studies, development commitments and indicators. sit. y. Nat. will constitute the content. Indices and rankings developed by the United Nations Women and. io. n. al. er. the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and the World Economic Forum are important for my analysis.. i n U. v. RESEARCH JUSTIFICATIONS AND QUESTIONS. Ch. engchi. Since China’s reform, there has emerged alongside a rich scholarly engagement on its economic and social impact on the people. Political impact and changes are also discussed but largely on the general state-society relations, Howell (2006) says efforts are also made to engender the situation in order to place women as a central part of both theoretical and practical analysis. Anyway, most of these works center on village women’s political participation. 4. It should be noted that China’s political institutions are changed at different periods. While state institutions usually conduct changes in early months around the spring season, the CCP usually holds its congresses few months before. As will be seen later, this has a direct bearing on the composition of state institutions as party leaders are recruited for key state positions.. 7.

(15) especially after the introduction of village elections in the 1980s such as the works of (Wang & Dai 2010; Howell 2006; Su 2006). Other scholars such as Zeng (2014), Guo and Zhao (2010), Rosen (1995), devote their studies to understand politics at the top level. This study takes from this end with a broader and more exhaustive approach thus I present four justifications for its scholarly relevance. Firstly, it will contribute to fill a gap by focusing on elite politics and providing an extensive analysis of some of the most important political institutions of the party-state and their. 政治大 on women’s issues will impact China 立 since it opened its doors to the international community for. relation with women. Secondly, it will be an interesting analysis of how global social movements. ‧ 國. 學. the past three decades. Third, the work will also analyze if the two most important actions of international commitment- the ratification of the CEDAW and the hosting of the Fourth World. ‧. Conference on Women is for political recognition rather than well-intentioned empowerment of. sit. y. Nat. Chinese women. Finally, it will be relevant to discuss the potential impact on the gendered. n. al. er. io. distribution of authority as the country perhaps poses for greater reforms.. i n U. v. Furthermore, this research will answer the following questions: has China provided an. Ch. engchi. expected room of political participation on the basis of gender equality since the beginning of its reforms in 1978? Are there frameworks that support genuine institutional arrangements for gender-related demands in the “new” China? How greater international opening will continue to affect both government and women regarding the demand for more political rights and positions in the country’s elite institutions?. 8.

(16) RESEARCH LIMITATIONS Firstly, this project has a short time span to meet the researcher’s graduate work schedule. Secondly, the researcher lacks language competency of handling resources that are written in Chinese hence only English Language scripts or translated versions of Chinese works (which may risk important alterations) will be highly relied on. In addition, it is also important to note that interaction with civil society organizations, women’s study centers in universities or government bureaus such as the ACWF working directly with women could be an additional. 政治大 organizations. Finally, even if this 立were possible, the researcher has no guarantee of accessing a. experience; this however is a missed opportunity as I lack the relevant network with these. ‧ 國. 學. visa of visit to China with ease considering political relations between China and my country of nationality. These challenges could exclude certain facts and personal experience in relation to. ‧. the subject within the local context, among others.. y. Nat. er. io. sit. OVERVIEW OF WOMEN’S POLITICAL STATUS FROM A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE In a review by Runyan (2014, 2), she says that throughout history, all political systems,. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. and even “modern liberal capitalist systems” are involved in citizen subordination based on. engchi. sexuality, gender, race and class yet they systematically do not hold themselves guilty. This is a serious challenge that is reinforced by existing patriarchal and other factors despite there are enough evidences that women perform as effective as men when offered the same opportunities in political offices. From the global south to the north, this phenomenon is a living reality hence only few countries can boldly identify themselves to have championed initiatives that ended such a deeply embedded political norm. Although this is a challenge into the twenty first Century, one can boldly argue that the problem of political inequality is perhaps as old as the institution and. 9.

(17) practice of politics itself which has almost always been labeled as a game of men. Be it in democratic United States or in communist Cuba, there is not a single political entity that has broken all chains of political inequality hanged on the necks of their citizens based on social constructs. As a result, women wear the burden of inequality in many societies. Women, according to UNICEF (2006) and UN Women (2008) tend to be more vulnerable to suffer from violence, discrimination and lesser representation than any other group in the world. Ranging from. 政治大 female population experiencing立 some form of violence in their lives (UN Women 2013; WHO physical to political violence, women stand as the most affected victims with up to 35% of the. ‧ 國. 學. 2013). In addition, they are likely to suffer from poverty, have relatively lesser access to control national resources especially in the world’s poorer regions and are mostly deprived of. ‧. opportunities of schooling and improved health standards (United Nations Women 2011). In fact,. sit. y. Nat. the United Nations and several civil society organizations 5 hold that women make the larger. io. al. er. percentage of the approximate 1.5 billion people living under poverty around the world. iv n C of all people living under poverty are women h e nisgaccontested h i U debate n. (Moghadam 2005; Chant 2006; UN Women 2000; Buvinic 1997). Even though the claim that 70% 6. in the global development. discourse, UNICEF (2006) has declared poverty having a feminine face 7 hence its popularization of the saying, the “feminization of poverty”. There is scholarly evidence that when women are voted and or entrusted with decisionmaking positions, women’s interests, views, concerns and experiences are being better. 5. Several civil society organizations that are engaged in the global fight against poverty such as Action Aid International, Oxfam, Catholic Relief Service, Concern Universal, Voluntary Service Overseas. 6 See UNDP 1995; DFID 2000; UNIFEM, 1995; ADB 2000 (cited in Chant 2007) 7 Fourth World Conference on Women (The Beijing Platform for Action Recommendations). 10.

(18) represented (Markham 2013; United Nations Women 2012; Coleman 2012; Dahlerup 2009; Lawless and Fox 2008; Edwards 2007; Dovi, 2002; Cornway 2001). As succinctly noted: A central criterion in evaluating the health of democracy is the degree to which all citizens – men and women – are encouraged and willing to engage the political system and run for public office. More women in positions of political power confer a greater sense of political legitimacy to the government, simply by virtue of the fact that it better reflects the gender breakdown of the national population (Lawless and Fox 2008, 3). 8. Similarly, in 2002, Susan Dovi provides a strong justification that “historically. 政治大. disadvantaged” groups which include minority tribal groups, races and women should be. 立. represented by members of those groups because it is through such representation that political. ‧ 國. 學. institutions are legitimized, democratized and reflective of the needs of societies. However, in the UN Women’s first major publication on the global status of women, it reports that only 28%. ‧. of all nations have reached or surpassed the 30% benchmark 9 of women decision-makers as of. Nat. sit. y. 2011 (UN Women 2011). This might sound discouraging, but it is true that the last few years. n. al. er. io. have in fact witnessed increased performance towards greater gender representation in the. i n U. v. political sphere of many countries although at a much slower pace than desirable.. Ch. engchi. According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (2013), women occupy only 21.4% of parliamentary seats in the world and are grossly under-represented at ‘high level’ 10 politics (United Nations Women 2011). This means that almost 80% of all parliamentary positions in the world are held by men. Out of the 45, 944 global parliamentarians recorded by the IPU in 2013, only 9, 608 are women. In Single or Lower Houses, women are 8, 204 out of the 38, 694 8. http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/papers/2008/5/women%20lawless%20fox/05_women_lawles s_fox.pdf 9 Fourth World Conference on Women (The Beijing Platform for Action Recommendations) 10 The term “high level” politics is often used to loosely describe top government organizations or positions especially at national or central levels such as ministers, parliamentarians, presidents, premiers and vice premiers.. 11.

(19) parliamentarians (21.8%) while there are 1,404 women (19.4%) out of the 7, 250 in Upper Houses or Senates around the world. On a regional level, the Asian region ranks quite lowly with regards to women in top political institutions as it is better than only the Arab and Pacific regions with 18.2% of all parliamentary positions held by women. In addition, Markham indicates that since 1950, only 80 women became leaders of their states excluding those with ceremonial duties through monarchs and other customary practices. Even with such an insignificant figure, most of the women ascend their positions through familial connections or “political dynasties” and as of. 政治大. 2012, only 10% of the world’s heads of state were women, meaning 20 women out of 193 (Markham 2013).. 立. ‧ 國. 學. This is a serious human rights issue, an ethical subject as well test on equality and justice. Several factors are extended to explain the cause of this challenge. Cultural orthodoxies,. ‧. religious practices, social norms, imbalance educational opportunities, and economic inequality. sit. y. Nat. are part of the several reasons why women are mostly sidelined from their country’s political. io. al. er. domain. There is yet a country, reported by the World Economic Forum (2013), Markham (2013). iv n C economic, political to cultural indicators hbetween i Uwomen. This is not the farce of our e n g cmenh and n. and Yu and Liu (2010), in our world that has attained equality at all levels ranging from social to. century but a reality that shows a deep rooted challenge that humanity has sustained for centuries of interactions. In a similar vein, in its World Development Report (2012), the World Bank says that the disparity that exists between men and women with regards to access and influencing the decision-making process of their societies has economic costs. The Bank further emphasizes that states that fail to improve gender equality directly loss an immense portion of talent and productivity from women, with a direct bearing on economic and social development performances of these nations. 12.

(20) Sometimes, the situation of gender inequality and its corresponding consequences are similar but due to cultural differences and socio-economic realities in various countries, there are also vast differences. In some nations, women have lesser or unequal opportunities like men to participate in politics. In others, they are treated as lesser or “second-class” citizens who have no say at all in determining their country’s 11 political life. These situations are a result of the statuses of men and women as different beings created from our social constructions of expectations, behaviors and roles assigned to them.. 政治大. OVERVIEW OF WOMEN’S POLITICAL STATUS FROM A CHINESE PERSPECTIVE. 立. The achievement of gender equality and the full realization of women’s potentials, argues. ‧ 國. 學. the UNDP, are not only fundamental human rights that are to be promoted and protected, but these are imperative to the realization of sustainable development and global socio-economic. ‧. security (UNDP 2013). Therefore, the status of Chinese women is an extremely important. y. Nat. sit. indicator in demographic, socio-economic and political terms for the country, Asia Pacific and. n. al. er. io. the world. Other than the fact that China has the biggest number of women descendants (650. i n U. v. million) on earth (Attané 2012), the country’s level of political equality between men and. Ch. engchi. women is an important indicator that could be regarded as a success story for a “new” China. In addition, it will also serve as an example to its neighbors in a region it perceives itself a “giant” (Yu and Liu 2010). In 2007, Louise Edwards commented that, China’s gender performance in politics does not match even its socialist “cousins” anymore. Presently, it lags seriously behind some of those communist countries. Cuba is doing exceptionally well with regards to women’s parliamentary 11. United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia as of 2013 have gender biased electoral laws that forbid women from participating in elections (cited in Markham 2013). Note the link of this situation to the lowest regional ranking of women’s political participation in the Arab World.. 13.

(21) presence. In 2013, it ranked behind only Rwanda on the IPU global ranking with 48.9% of its parliamentarians as women (IPU 2013). This shows that socialist countries are capable of approaching gender parity in politics based on the practical sense of social justice than the general ideological approach of equality and a classless society. If there is any country that could be defined as a success story for rapid economic and social advancement in the last quarter century, there is none better than China. A state that has emerged from a tumultuous history (Teiwes 2011) sixty-five years ago has captivated global. 政治大 from this socio-economic perspective, 立 it is without doubt that China has ‘risen’ and it is. attention as an economic giant and an epitome of human advancement in recent years. Measuring. ‧ 國. 學. progressing without much challenge in a global down-turn for other bigger powers such as the United States (politically) and Japan (economically, as a long-time holder of the second position. ‧. of our global wealth) (McCurry and Kollewe 2011).. y. Nat. sit. If there is investment in the social and economic lives of women, it is imperatively. n. al. er. io. significant for a matching investment in the political engagement of women especially at top. i n U. v. level politics so that national policies reflect a wider representation of the needs of the society.. Ch. engchi. This is extremely important to the country’s treatment of its women as important citizens who can meaningfully contribute to the progress of their country not only in economic, social and cultural terms but also politically. Chinese women and men, have varying degrees of opportunities with regards to family or community voices and resources. Its more than six million women continue to live under a deep patriarchal system but the authoritarian political system of their society further weakens their voices, limit their opportunities of access to important political institutions while traditionally defined gender responsibilities mostly pave way for the success of men. 14.

(22) Whatever gauge is used to measure the civility of China’s unequal political treatment of its men and women, it is objective to accept the fact that other countries have gone and or are still going through similar level of political discrimination based on wealth, race or ethnicity, sex and gender. It is true that advancements have taken place in most cases but it must be noted that nations, as mentioned earlier, only perform better than the other in the advancement of the lives of women but none has achieved complete parity between men and women in all aspects of life. As a result, there is a global social mobilization that seeks to change this long lasting. 政治大 This social movement has 立emerged around the world and it is championed by the United. phenomenon.. ‧ 國. 學. Nations and several non-government organizations that seek to radically change the position of women in politics. With China’s opening to the world at the end of the 1970s, it means that there. ‧. is a global lens on it with regards to the empowerment of its women. Indeed to be the “modern. sit. y. Nat. and a civilized state” the founding fathers and reformists aim to achieve, it is important that the. io. al. er. Chinese state is critically involved in the global democratic movement (at least from the gender. iv n C U outcomes that will have direct processes of their nations and how theyhare e able h i policy n gtocaffect n. dimension) that seeks to revolutionize how women are able to participate in the decision-making. bearings on their lives.. 15.

(23) CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW FACTORS THAT SHAPED WOMEN’S POLITICAL POSITION IN CHINA This chapter looks at the factors that shape women’s political status of women in China. I will analyze how women’s low political access to top level politics is positioned within the socio-cultural, economic and political discourse from scholars who work on Chinese politics. In. 政治大 underrepresentation in top political institutions especially the PB, PBSC, CPPCC and the NPC, 立 other words, I will examine the literature about factors responsible for women’s political. among others.. ‧ 國. 學. Of particular interests are the works of Zeng (2014); Attané (2012); Zheng, Yongnian and. ‧. Zhao (2009); Howell (2006, 2003, 2002); Hershatter (2007); Edwards (2007); Ma (2009); Lin. Nat. sit. y. (2003) and Rosen (1995). The selected works are from diverse scholarly backgrounds covering. al. er. io. history, anthropology, sociology, politics and feminism, among others. With the founding of the. n. iv n C h enational irrelevance was an important item on the h i Uof the communist leaders. However, n g cagenda. PRC, sixty five years ago, the ambition of emancipating women from a position of political. Attané (2012), Hershatter (2007), Edwards (2007), Howell (2006) and Su (2006) claim that women’s empowerment especially in political terms, was more of a party propaganda and gender-based difference existed almost throughout the communist regime except during the radical anti-identity period of the Cultural Revolution. In fact, Hershatter accuses the Communist Party of using women’s position as an appeal to win the public’s confidence. People were made to believe that the best strategy of modernizing the nation was through women’s liberation. This, she says was an essential way of justifying the 16.

(24) party’s demand for power. She has this to say: “the Communist Party, in particular, drew much of its power from its promise to rescue the nation from feudalism, imperialism, Japanese invasion and Guomindang oppression. [However] it subordinated the fate of women to that of the nation, and whenever raising the status of the nation, or its prospects for revolutionary transformation, gender equality was deferred” (Hershatter 2007, 80). Even though a large pool of literature has surfaced since China’s beginning of liberal economic reform but concentration on the political impact on women has been minimal says. 政治大 has either taken a provincial-based 立 research or only focused on selected villages like the works Howell (2006), although this is now changing. Anyway, the gender dimension in scholarly works. ‧ 國. 學. of Wang and Dai (2010); Su (2006) and Howell (2006). It is noticed that much focus has not been devoted to extensive studies on the most important political institutions of the Party-State,. ‧. except in few cases such as Zeng 2014; Edwards 2007, Yu and Liu 2010 and Guo and Zhao. sit. y. Nat. 2010 12 and how this situation affects the lives of the millions of women within such a system. It. io. al. er. is also noted that studies on the elite political institutions are not extensive by scope and the most. iv n C entirely devoted on elite level politics but h she e ntouches g c honi theUsubject by devoting a whole section n. detailed study was done by Rosen almost twenty years ago. Hershatter’s 2007 work is not. (88-93) that analyzes the relation between the CCP and women, but again, she too did not dwell on women’s access to top political institutions as much as needed. Support for a grassroots political activeness is indeed relevant as it fosters equality in the democratic process right from the ward or village. Secondly, it also challenges the stereotypes that have isolated women from the governance of their own communities. Finally, women can. 12. I categorized works based on contents that have touched high ranking political institutions even in a minimal context within a section or an entire section devoted to it.. 17.

(25) have greater proximity to their political representatives and this provides an opportunity of articulation of their needs more directly and practically. It is needless to argue over the importance of these points but it is reasoned in this paper that there could be greater impact when women are able to take up more opportunities at the highest level of politics and not stationed to village cadres for their entire lives. While I argue that high level political participation of women has a potential of breaking away from the norm of placing them in proximal grassroots politics that do not directly challenge. 政治大 participation in politics from grassroots 立 female population is more important and fundamental”.. masculine domination at top national institutions, Zeng (2014, 136) maintains that “… a broader. ‧ 國. 學. To an extent, Zeng’s argument is relevant especially in a large population like China with a vast land scape of different levels of development needs and investment modalities. Perhaps she. ‧. believes that micro-level participation of women carries more pragmatic response to their needs. sit. y. Nat. and justly represents their interests as discussed above.. n. al. er. io. In addition, she also argues that the ratio of women active in politics might only be. i n U. v. reflective of their statuses and not representative. I quite disagree with this interpretation because. Ch. engchi. political participation and accessing governance institutions freely without socially constructed barriers is first of all a fundamental right of the members of a society and this additionally shows how fair that society stands out. For the second reason, I partly agree that inasmuch as women’s representation is encouraged, it does not always result to immediate results yet this will not stop the demands for equality in the determination of the society one belongs to. Additionally, it is apparent that women’s power base in rural China will unlikely create tremendous effects on the elites in Beijing. Further, it also mostly extends women’s domestic. 18.

(26) responsibilities into the public realm where they hardly compete with men over more prestigious responsibilities or positions. In those village committees, women’s likelihood of serving as assistants or subordinate officers is more apparent than their greater and assertive control of real power in the face of more evident traditional limitations. In a similar vein, Hearshatter argues that village committee membership grants women to execute assigned familial roles of health improvement, child welfare and sanitation among others into the public arena. O’Brien claims that, village elections have shattered the political ambitions of women and those that manage to. 治政大 a similar position as she argues (O’brien 2006, as cited in Edwards 2007, 382). Su (2006) shares 立 serve in committees are mostly assigned “the thankless job of enforcing family planning”. that high level politics allow women to directly engage in the formulation of laws and policies. ‧ 國. 學. that have bearings on their lives while they are able to exert “accountability” from the executive. ‧. in their positions as parliamentarians for instance.. sit. y. Nat. In other discussions, Jude Howell (2006, 2002) says that women at village level politics. io. al. er. do not carry with them overwhelming power that could cause dramatic changes of state policies. iv n C the introduction of competitive village h elections i Uof the 80s. In fact, in as much they e n gatctheh end n. to their advantage, talk-less of their declining opportunities to serve in those committees since. intend to challenge certain policies that undermine women’s liberty and integrity, there is little opportunity of doing what is not assigned by the state or its agencies to some degree but worst with policies that might be perceived politically conflicting to the party’s interest. This situation might be changing but the fact is that the CCP retains its political interests and in an extremely authoritarian way. At the end of the 70s, China was led by Deng Xiaoping and opened its doors to the international community by reforming its economic structure (Whyte 2012; Ma 2009; Su 2006; 19.

(27) Lin 2003; Rosen 1995 & Fernandez n. d). This caused some radical changes in many aspects of living patterns in a society that once closed its borders to the international community for decades. It is evident that changing to a “state-led” liberal economy has indeed far reaching effects on the status of women as a class that has for long been disadvantaged even within a communist system than any other group. There is a near coincidence of China’s opening and a global women’s movement that left only few countries immune from the demands for a global emancipation of women. The women’s movement is shaking the walls of our world, moving. 治政大 enacted the CEDAW (1979) of size could be. China was among the first countries that in 1980 立 beyond national borders and crossing frontiers into even closed societies no matter how little a. the UN, which is mostly seen as the “International Bill of Rights” for women (Attané 2012).. ‧ 國. 學. Anyway, this was preceded by national laws such as the 1954 constitution that guarantees. ‧. equality for all citizens (Zheng, Guo & Zhao 2009; Yu & Liu 2010; Edwards 2007 & Su 2006).. sit. y. Nat. It is stated in Article 96 of the 1954 constitution that “women in the People’s Republic of China. io. al. er. have equal rights with men in all spheres of life including the political, economic, cultural, social. iv n C U be voted for when qualified. An Article 86 appropriates the eligibility of vote h women i and e n g toc h n. and family spheres” (Constitution of the People’s Republic of China 1954) 13. In the same vein,. additional law specific to women’s human rights was enacted in 1992 and not ignoring the fact that China has initiated at least two national gender policies on women’s advancement between 1995 and 2010 (Zheng, Guo & Zhao 2009). In addition, affirmative actions were said to be initiated by the regime that urged women’s inclusion across all strata of political organizations to strengthen their representation in. 13. A version of the constitution in English and Chinese is available here: http://echaupak.net/database/chicon/1954/1954bilingual.htm. 20.

(28) politics. To achieve “more than one woman at the leading bodies of governments at all levels” (Yu & Liu 2010, 312) became the common rhetoric on affirmative action to place women at political ranks both satisfying a domestic political need and posing as a modern responsible state. As a result, China holds a mid-level position on the IPU global ranking of women in parliament 14 remarkably because of the regime’s mandatory increase in women’s representation at provincial bodies. The proportion of women representatives to the NPC has increased from 20.2% to 21.3% from 2003 to 2008 due to such intervention (Zheng, Guo & Zhao 2009) and an. 政治大. additional rise to 23.4% in 2013 thus giving it sixty first position on the parliamentary ranking (IPU 2014).. 立. ‧ 國. 學. There is still a wide gap in the political domain which is either treated as a reserved echelon for men and or women seen not to be prepared enough to face such responsibilities. This. ‧. situation is worst in the highest political institutions of the country. China has sent at least two. sit. y. Nat. women to space but reaching its political high power-base has become almost out of vision for. io. al. er. women for many years. Even though these affirmative actions are initiated and implemented to. iv n C U considering the widening gap addition, this increment is not a satisfactory h e n trend g c hfori China, n. some degree, women’s active participation and access to elite structures are not encouraging. In. between it and other nations (Zheng, Guo and Zhao 2009; Edwards 2007) it perceives itself to be equal to in international relevance. Similarly, Zeng (2014) argues that, overall the regime has not significantly improved its commitment of political parity but has initiated programs that will improve women’s status.. 14. Selection to the NPC according to the 1982 Constitution is done through elections at provincial, municipal and regional autonomous levels and the armed forces once every five years. For more details, see Article 59 of the constitution here: http://www.npc.gov.cn/englishnpc/Constitution/2007-11/15/content_1372965.htm. 21.

(29) As discussed above, the CCP is criticized that it brought immense changes in the socioeconomic advancement of China but it continues to do this in a masculine way. As cited in Li (2000), Stacey (1983) argues that the party has ushered new socio-economic and political systems since it came to power but it has failed to replace the existing traditional notions of men as natural leaders while women act as keepers of families. In addition, Hershatter also believes that the party is more concerned with its modernization mission than the improvement of the status of women. In fact, she says that the CCP was never interested in raising women’s status. 治政大 and modern where citizens are national development and creating a new state considered wealthy 立 but concerned with the relation of the state and society. This is a result of the party’s interest of. empowered through a socialist ideology. As a result, when women’s emancipation conflicts with. ‧ 國. 學. the interest of nationalism, it is women’s interest that is forgone. In the words of Ma (2009, 21). ‧. . . . [T]he CCP tie women’s interests with class interests and put the struggle of gender equality in. sit. y. Nat. the broad context of class equality. Although one could argue that the CCP appropriated Chinese. io. er. women’s interests to advance its own political agenda, regardless of the motivation of the CCP in promoting gender equality, Chinese women’s acquiescence legitimized the CCP’s merging of the. n. al. gender and class struggles.. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. This position of the Communist Party has historical connections to the country’s feminist movement but perhaps this is less utilized as a theoretical framework for analysis. Women’s empowerment in the Chinese perspective did not begin with an aggressive civil movement as in the United States, United Kingdom or France. The beginnings of Chinese women’s struggle for emancipation is traced to the May 4th Feminist Movements when few urban elites predominantly men, demanded for a revival of the gender division of their society (Ma, 2009; Hearshatter 2007; Li 2000 & Rosen 1995). This singular historical incident has perhaps shaped the state-gender 22.

(30) relation in no small way. Because unlike the movements in other countries led by women that challenged existing political disparity and traditionally gender structured ideologies, China’s movement has been a peculiar one mostly led by men. This masculine and elite-centered approach is often accused of having other ulterior motives perceived to be achievable through increased female capability. This will enable them to pose China to the outside world as a modern and equal nation with liberated women who participate in national development (Hershatter 2007) than the aim of guaranteeing women gender equality in a society that has. 政治大 Furthermore, Ma (2009)立 asserts that the very notion of tying women’s liberation to the. condone inequality and suppression for thousands of years.. ‧ 國. 學. achievement of another objective (in this case, building a modern and advanced China) is a classic case of exploitation. This very vision of socialist view of women’s empowerment is. ‧. challenged by some Western Feminists also. Notable among the critics was Catherine. sit. y. Nat. MacKinnon who argues that Marxist thinkers have not done any better than the Capitalists with. io. al. er. regards to the emancipation of women as Marxism or Communism is a male dominated ideology. iv n C U that it moves within the world that Marxism is male defined in theoryh and einnpractice, g c h imeaning n. whose concept of class does not alter inequality between men and women. “Feminists charged. view and in the interest of men” (MacKinnon 1982, 518). In fact, she says that the “workingclass” movements undervalue women’s economic contribution. Their labor contribution in the society is often ignored and women are vulnerable in capitalism in the same way as in Marxism. Conversely, Marxists also accuse the feminist movement of a class struggle that seeks to empower urban and educated (elite) women at the expense of others- the very practice against the Marxist idea of a classless society. The communist party saw women’s empowerment whether in politics or otherwise to be imbedded within a larger engagement of national 23.

(31) development, where women’s status will automatically improve through a national achievement of progress. What the State-Party still does not grasp is the fact that women’s liberation is achieved through gender-responsive strategies at all levels of governance and not a mere achievement of economic growth results to the full empowerment of citizens. Placing women in the center of power will enable them to better represent their interests especially in a liberal economy that is still state controlled. On the other hand, Zhao and Guo (2010) say that China does not lack ‘high-profile’. 政治大 Premier Wu Yi in Forbe’s “100立 Most Powerful Women” at second position in 2007. Indeed this. female politicians. The authors justify this claim because of the ranking of former Chinese Vice-. ‧ 國. 學. achievement is worthy of recognition but it could also be argued that a single woman’s position as an influential figure does not provide enough justification to assume that Chinese women have. ‧. equal political footing with men. The use of Wu as an indicator of women’s political. sit. y. Nat. achievement in China only provides a blurred reality of the political irrelevance millions of. io. al. er. women face daily either as deputies or assistants to men superiors or designated to positions. iv n C “Mother of the Nation”, Soong Ching-Ling h e (wife i Urevolutionary leader Sun Yat-Sen) n g cofhformer n. related to social welfare. In a similar vein, such an assertion could have been applied to the. who was named an Honorary President of the country shortly before her death (Snyder 1999). As emphasized above, it is indeed worthy of recognition for women who have reached important political positions especially in traditionally male dominated positions or institutions but without caution, it could blur the reality about the under-representation that many others faced in the same society. Furthermore, the authors add that there is advancement in the proportion of women’s participation at all levels of politics due to the immense change the economic reform brought 24.

(32) along. “The progress in the level of women’s political participation can be attributed to the economic reform and open door policy introduced in China in 1978. Women’s political inclusion has greatly benefitted from various gender-related institutions and policies . . . . and specific rules spelt out in various documents relating to personnel appointments by the Central Organization Department of the CCP” (Guo and Zhao 2010, 51). These achievements, they argue are a result of the reform that enabled women to be more aware of their individual human rights which inevitably results to the granting of political rights due to their economic status within a. 治政 (2006) and Rosen (1995) have pointed that; relatively China大 has not advanced quite well in the 立 liberal competing economy. Despite these arguments, authors like Bo (2010), Howell (2006), Su. representation of women in high level political institutions.. ‧ 國. 學. In addition, Zeng (2014), Guo and Zhao (2010) and Zheng, Guo and Zhao (2009), say. ‧. that the Party-State initiated a human rights program in 2009 that specifically promotes women’s. sit. y. Nat. participation in politics. An allocation of 20% of reserved cadres in the provinces, cities and. io. al. er. counties was initiated which has great impact on the NPC and CPPCC for instance. However,. iv n C U empowerment of women, it has or its Standing Committee. If there should h ebena genuine g c h ipolitical n. there was no establishment of a similar initiative at the very core of power such as the Politburo. to be across all levels of the governance structure and not merely at provincial levels or below with little power over the policies that might be of interest to the male dominated central power in Beijing. Su (2006, 147) has this to say: “. . . Chinese politics are quite resilient. The Party-State remains highly centralized and bureaucratized. . . Political leaders in the Party-State establishment are the real movers and shakers. Their preferences and interests determine what kind of issues are on the agenda, how policies are designed and whether or not policies are implemented”.. 25.

(33) From this general background, I will now discuss the politico-economic and sociocultural factors that have shaped China’s gendered politics. Below, is a discussion on political orientation and culture, the political “glass ceiling” and patriarchal behaviors within the Chinese political system, among others. First of all, through much of its narrative, China has always been labeled as a highly sexist and patriarchal society where women and men’s lives constituted vast differences with regards to responsibilities, expectations and statuses within the family, community and the larger. 政治大 Hull 2006 & Rosen 1995), although 立 fluctuations happened especially during Mao Zedong’s. society (Zeng 2014; Attané 2012; Yu & Liu 2010; Ma 2009; Hershatter 2007; Edwards 2007;. ‧ 國. 學. Cultural Revolution period (1966-76). This patriarchal preference could exist almost throughout an individual’s lifespan where men mostly receive privileged treatment right from birth. ‧. throughout their lives. This is because of their relatively potential social and economic standings. sit. y. Nat. for their families in the future. In Hershatter’s (2007) work Women in China’s Long Twentieth. io. al. er. History, she observes that Chinese women generally have been over-shadowed by a strong male. iv n C and shaping families while men were socialized positions of governance, security and h e n gto ctakeh up i U n. dominance for thousands of years. Women were mostly pushed into responsibilities of caring. the economy both at village and national levels. Again, she argues that this provided an unbalanced platform for Chinese women to have relevant control and or influence over matters of governance whether in the family or beyond. Secondly, the Chinese orientation about politics is similar to the classical period of Western political philosophy when politics was positioned as a public realm that mostly fits men’s roles as public figures but do not match women’s position as private and domesticated individuals (Tolleson-Rinehart & Carroll 2006; Okin 1998). As mentioned above, this has 26.

(34) reinforced the belief that men are naturally fit for leadership and have inherent rights to access public offices while women are naturally expected to serve in the private realm of child birth and rearing for instance. This is no difference in other cultures such as in the Arab world or as far as Africa. Women’s political ability has been subjected to great ridicule from the beginnings of political debates led by philosophers such as Aristotle, Hobbes, Lock or Rousseau (Okin 2013, 1998) to present-day practice in many societies. Contemporary cultural prophets and custodians of tradition have also in many ways. 政治大 is the woman’s un-bargained location 立 in the “private” in most civilizations and China is not an reinforced the allocation of a public-private relation between men and women. A result of which. ‧ 國. 學. exception. These factors have resulted to women’s underrepresentation in politics across all spheres and worst at the central level. The very notion that Chinese society is engendered in a. ‧. way that positions women within the internal realm of human interactions (like within the. sit. y. Nat. household) and legitimize men’s appropriate location in the outer realm justifies the domination. io. al. er. of women in more important political institutions. Perhaps nothing has laid the foundation of. iv n C U in Yu and Liu’s interpretation outside’) belief (Howell 2006, 609) which h ehasn agsimilar c h imeaning n. this political discrimination more than the ‘nu zhu nei, nan zhu wai’ (‘women live inside, men. of traditional Chinese idioms that say superiors, breadwinners and leaders are men while women serve as the opposite. Thirdly, like most religious and traditional values supportive to patriarchy, China has its own version, mostly expressed in Confucius beliefs (Attané 2012; Yu & Liu 2010; Howell 2006; Hershatter 2007 & Li 2000) that provide women lesser opportunities to explore a world beyond natal and marital boundaries. It is not uncommon to hear feminists claim that perhaps all religions; and philosophical beliefs (Okin 1998, 2013) treat their women as secondary citizens or 27.

(35) by its famous name: “second-class citizens”. From Islam to Christianity, Judaism to Hinduism, religions are accused of positioning women to be subservient and where necessary, pave the way for the success of men at their own expense. The “feudal” belief only perpetuates and reinforces inequality between the sexes treating one as capable while the other is unfitting for some of the demands of leadership, if not leadership in its entirety. The perception that women are weak, passive, lack self-esteem, confidence and experience (Zeng 2014; Yu & Liu 2010; Hershatter 2007; Edwards 2007 & Rosen 1995) have resulted to a political culture that segregates and have. 政治大. positioned women in most of society’s domestic realm or place them at the bottom of the political ladder.. 立. In this case, the Chinese society has also witnessed an environment for women’s political. ‧ 國. 學. marginalization because of the family’s central position in Confucian belief (Zeng 2014; Yu &. ‧. Liu 2010; Chang 2009; Hershatter 2007 & Howell 2006) and it has a lasting impact on Chinese gender relations. Li (2000, 31) argues that the beginning of “the most systematic,. y. Nat. er. io. sit. institutionalized and deep-rooted sexist ideologies and practices in China originated from the philosophy of “filial piety” of Confucius (551-479 B.C.)” who believed that women were. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. subjects answerable to men. Ma (2009, 21) also says that “Confucian philosophy [therefore]. engchi. helped maintain the patriarchal social order in China for thousands of years”. Further, Howell reiterates that the low level of women’s access and participation in politics is a result of both tangible and intangible traits of inequality between the two genders, “the dominant explanation given for women’s numerical underrepresentation in village committees and in politics more generally, focuses on women’s lack of self-confidence, which inhabits them from standing as candidates and on the enduring drag of ‘feudal’ attitudes, which constructs women as inferior to men and therefore not capable of leadership” (Howell 2006, 603).. 28.

(36) According to the constituents of the ‘filial piety’, women must be obedient to men, citizens to their rulers and the young to the elderly. At the individual level, women’s case seems to be more serious as they are expected to be obedient to their fathers before marriage; to their husbands during marriage and to their sons during widowhood (Chang 2009; Hershatter 2007). As a result, “for thousands of years, the rules of these three obedience helped maintain the patriarchal social order in China” (Li 2000, 31). Despite these arguments, it is important to note that China through the Cultural. 治政大 2013; McLeister 2008; Li 2001; practices in replacement of a modern communist state (Zhong 立 Revolution had aimed for the abolition of all forms of religions perceived as old traditions and 15. Zuo 1999). Some of these scholars observe what China experienced was a blatant attack on all. ‧ 國. 學. forms of religious practices both materially and spiritually. Temples, Churches and Mosques,. ‧. among others were not only destroyed but religious leaders and scholars were murdered, displaced or turned into farmers as if there were no other belief to worship other than Chairman. y. Nat. er. io. sit. Mao’s ideology. However, most of the dominant religious beliefs especially those associated with Confuscianism either found their way back to the society or they actually never disappeared.. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. This shows the fact that in as much as culture is said to be dynamic, it could also be hard to. engchi. change especially if the society is more inclined to it than welcoming newer forms of living styles imposed on their livelihoods. This means that the Cutural Revolution which is said to have increased women’s direct participation in politics because China perhaps have reached the highest point of its revolution for a classless and uniform society was a short lived reality. The. 15. The CCP has always been suspicious of religion that could pose threats to its political ambition. The Communist leaders have also alleged religious beliefs to be dogmatic and threatening to the attainment of a “modern” and “progressive” nation. In addition, atheism is the doctrine of the CCP and members are forbidden from religious affiliation. This party requirement is the most important indicator to understand the party’s sensitivity to religion from contemporary human rights approach to religious freedom. For details, see: (Clark 2014; Hornemann 2012; Lambert 1992).. 29.

(37) change did not last since women’s empowerment was not the objective of a politically motivated movement that aimed to sustain Chairman Mao’s political ambition than a true commitment to equality and justice. In addition, the social meaning of friendship and networking could be disadvantage to politically ambitious women in China. While men can have social ties with both sexes, women are expected to be virtuous, maintain cordial relations and free from promiscuous tendencies should they be given enough respect in whatever career paths they may want to choose. Taking. 治政大networks as men Howell (2006). gives women lesser opportunities of making political allies and 立. the culture of “hanging out” and drinking as a normal part of Chinese social life for instance,. Cochrane et al. (2003) also say that social drinking is used as a strategy of reinforcing friendship,. ‧ 國. 學. business ties and other relations which could be political too. Interestingly, Howell says that a. ‧. woman is expected to safeguard her integrity not to interact too openly with men not proximal to her family should she be taken seriously in her leadership/political career or ambition. This. y. Nat. er. io. sit. expectation of satisfying a certain level of virtuousness, she says, while it denies women the opportunity of making the relevant social capital for their political ambitions, cause them a. n. al. double lost. In her words,. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. “[A]t stake here is political cultural practices such as heavy drinking, toasting and smoking, which function to nurture and consolidate bonds of male solidarity and are interpreted as indicators of leadership ability. These practices pose a problem for women leaders as smoking and drinking are in general seen as inappropriate for women and undermine their reputation” (2006, 616).. Furthermore, the political “glass ceiling” (or what Howell calls the “bamboo ceiling” in a local context) is one of the most pervasive discriminatory cultures within the global political. 30.