Intellectuals and the State in Post-Mao China

297 Pages·1998·15.2 MB·English

by  Ka-ho Mok (auth.)

INTELLECTUALS AND THE STATE IN
POST-MAO CHINA
Also by Ka-ho Mok
A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
INDICATORS BElWEEN WORLD BIG CITIES AND CHINA BIG
CITIES (with Stewart MacPherson and Zhu Qingfang)
SOCIAL AND POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT IN POST-MAO CHINA
Intellectuals and the
State in Post-Mao China
Ka-hoMok
Assistant Professor
Department of Public and Social Administration
City University of Hong Kong
First published in Great Britain 1998 by
MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London
Companies and representatives throughout the world
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-1-349-40116-1 ISBN 978-0-230-37985-5 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780230379855
First published in the United States of America 1998 by
ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC.,
Scholarly and Reference Division,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010
ISBN 978-0-312-17741-6
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Mok, Ka-ho, 1964-
Intellectuals and the state in post-Mao China 1 Ka-ho Mok.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-312-17741-6 (cloth : alk. paper)
I. Democracy-China. 2. Intellectuals-China-Political activity.
3. China-Politics and govemment-1976- I. Title.
lQ1516.M65 1998
305.5'52'0951----dc21 97-22296
CIP
© Ka-ho Mok 1998
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1998978-0-333-68944-8
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made
without written permission.
No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with
written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by
the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London WI P 9HE.
Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to
criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance
with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and
sustained forest sources.
10987654321
07 06 05 04 03 02 01 00 99 98
To God, in whom I faithfully trust,
who is the origin of democracy and wisdom

Contents
List of Tables vii
Preface ix
Acknowledgements xi
1 Introduction 1
2 Pro-Democracy Movements in Post-Mao China 16
3 The Reformer Intellectual: Van Jiaqi 47
4 The Radical Reformer: Fang Lizhi 78
5 The Mouthpiece of the People: Liu Binyan 109
6 The Cultural Iconoclast: Liu Xiaobo 137
7 The Changing Relationship between the State
and the Intellectuals in Post-Mao China 171
8 Beyond Organized Dependence: The Impact of
the Market Economy on the Role of Intellectuals 204
9 Conclusion 227
Notes and References 242
Bibliography 248
Appendix: List of In-Depth Interoiews 267
Index 268
vii
List of Tables
8.1 Intellectuals' perception and evaluation of the
Jumping into the sea' phenomenon 212
8.2 Increase in household income after the
formation of 'one family, two systems' 213
viii
Preface
The world was shaken by the June Fourth Massacre which
erupted in China in 1989. It is abundantly clear that the
cause of the pro-democracy movement with widespread sup
port from different walks of life lies primarily in the des
potic rule of state socialism. Despite the tragic nature of
the massacre, the significance of the incident is a deeper
'awakening' among Chinese intellectuals. Mter the massacre,
many Chinese intellectuals have become more conscious of
their independence, considering professional autonomy as
fundamental right to intellectual life. Rethinking their social
role, they have striven to restructure a new relationship with
the state. Some of them go along the path of working outside
the state apparatus and some even take the 'anti-establishment'
way. Against a strong tide of marketization, many intellectu
als in the mainland have ventured into the business and
commercial world to improve their livelihood. Having en
gaged in business activities, they have become more econ
omically independent. Eschewing dependence upon the state,
these intellectual businessmen have gained far more social
and political autonomy, the development of which should
have significantly affected the relationship between the state
and the Chinese intelligentsia.
In the process of analysing the ideological production of
Chinese intellectuals, this author has observed the emerg
ence of new and different relationships which have devel
oped between Chinese intellectuals and the state. At the
same time as they have become more independent, the nature
of their critique has changed. In the past Chinese intellec
tuals criticized only the corruption of government and never
the system of government itself. But post-Mao intellectuals
have thrown off the fetters of their predecessors and turned
their attacks on the system of their repressive Communist
regime. Those who, in an earlier era, were fiercely loyal to
the Communist ideals now speak only of the myth of a
Communist utopia. Their criticism of the crises In China
and their critique of state socialism reveal not only their
ix