ÌÇÐÄÊÓƵ

CCS Webinar Series: A Nation That Shows Up? Giving, Volunteering and Civic Lif

Enlarge image

Does an authoritarian state crowd out civil society? Or is civic energy in China simply a Western civil society waiting to bloom? Drawing on five waves of the Civic Participation in China Survey (2018–2026), this presentation describes a civic culture that is collaborative rather than adversarial, intrinsically motivated rather than incentive-driven, and increasingly mediated by digital platforms rather than legacy institutions. By 2026, roughly three in four adults report donating to a charitable cause and nearly two thirds report volunteering—rates rivaling those of wealthy democracies, despite China's comparatively young and regulated nonprofit sector. That same year marks a measurable turning point: independent foundations overtook state-linked ones as the leading recipients of individual donations for the first time in the survey's history. Centering ordinary citizens' behavior and beliefs rather than policy documents or organizational registries, the talk offers a bottom-up complement to top-down accounts of civil society governance. It also invites comparison with Hawaiʻi's own layered histories of diasporic and community-based giving.

Event Sponsor
Center for Chinese Studies, Mānoa Campus

More Information
(808) 956-8891