The Survival and Developement Space for China's Labor NGOs: Informal Politics and Its Uncertainty

Some case studies have well demonstrated that informal political activities have been able to secure government tolerance and even support for some civic groups. Other case studies have shown that some civic groups whose very survival has been threatened eventually cannot escape the fate of being absorbed or shut down. How does one explain the uncertainty of informal politics in China? This article attempts to use three case studies of labor organizations to arrive at some general observations. In the first place, since there is a lack of consensus among government agencies, informal rules are naturally vague and uncertain. At the same time, the tactical interactions between government agencies and civic groups become unbalanced because the predominance enjoyed by the former in the formal political structure spreads to the informal political sphere. Uncertainty in informal politics in China is almost inevitable.