Volunteers inform citizens about the novel coronavirus in the streets of Wuhan in February 2020 (Photo: Chirag Nagpal @ shutterstock)
Im April 2021 veröffentlichte das China-Programm mit einem Blickwechsel einen Betrachtungs- und Vermittlungsversuch zwischen schrumpfenden zivilgesellschaftlichen Räumen in und wachsendem Dialogbedarf mit China. Nun liegt der Text in englischer Sprache vor.
Civil society in China is diverse and in a state of upheaval. While organizations in the country act quickly and effectively in crises such as earthquakes and epidemics, from an international perspective they tend to act covertly and hand-in-hand with the state. Their approach arises from a different understanding of civil society engagement and a restrictive legal framework, which was extended to civil society exchanges with other countries in 2017. A report on—and an attempt to mediate between – shrinking civil society spaces and the growing need for dialog with China.
Joanna Klabisch and Christian Straube lead the China Program at Stiftung Asienhaus. They studied East Asian studies with a focus on China and modern Sinology at the University of Heidelberg and at universities in China. Since her studies and subsequent stays in China, Joanna Klabisch has been working on Chinese civil society, environmental protection, and social justice. As part of his doctoral research, Christian Straube examined Chinese investments in East and Central Africa, as well as the China-Africa discourse.
