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NDI programs in China seek to promote public participation and transparency in governance. Since 2000, the Institute has worked to promote the use of public hearings, assist in the development of democratic governance models, and support the emerging role of civil society.
Over the last 30 years, China’s booming economic development has created an increasingly diverse society, characterized by considerable dynamism and a strong modernizing impulse. The drive toward modernization and the evolution of values, including growing recognition of the importance of accountability, have led to incremental reforms in government processes that present some opportunities for citizen participation. In addition, China’s lawmaking system has expanded to foster and protect the country’s rapid economic growth as well as to align it with international trade standards. While the changes in China’s lawmaking system have been primarily economically-driven, they nevertheless foster a broader awareness of the importance of legislation and rule of law in general. NDI is working to support the incremental reforms that have provided a foundation for greater representation and openness in governance in China. Additionally, NDI is assisting in developing replicable models of democratic governance.
Current Activities
In 2000, NDI launched a program in China to build legislative capacity at the provincial level. NDI partnered with the one of China’s top think tank on political reform, the Center for the Study of People’s Congress and Foreign Legislatures, to strengthen legislative hearings and encourage legislative reforms. At the third national-level seminar on hearings that NDI sponsored, the Institute assisted participants to formulate draft procedural guidelines for conducting legislative hearings in China. The Legislative Affairs Commission of the National People’s Congress informally promoted these model rules of procedure.
In 2002, NDI expanded its program to promote greater public participation in other governance processes, such as legislative and administrative public hearings. In late 2003, NDI broadened its interest to include expanding citizen participation, particularly in environmental governance, which has been more open to public participation. Activities conducted have included workshops on promoting citizen participation in environmental decision-making, training officials on how to incorporate citizen participation in environmental governance, and expanding non-governmental organizations’ (NGOs) involvement in this area, including participation in public hearings.
In 2007, NDI continued to expand its program to include projects on: encouraging stakeholder involvement in governance of threatened ecosystems; training farmers’ cooperative associations on democratic principles such as broad-based participation in governance and transparency of operation at the grassroots level; developing a guidebook outlining procedures for Chinese businesses to practice corporate social responsibility and incorporate stakeholder involvement; an administrative handbook on citizen participation for environmental protection officials; and a handbook on environmental governance participation for NGOs. NDI’s recent partners include: provincial environmental protection bureaus; Chinese NGOs; the State Office of Comprehensive Agricultural Development of the Ministry of Finance; the State Environmental Protection Administration; the Research Center on Transnational Corporations of the Ministry of Commerce; and the Center for Legal Assistance to Pollution Victims, among others.
Since launching its China program in 2000, the Institute has also collaborated with other partners, such as: the China Center for Comparative Politics and Economics; China University for Political Science and Law; the Institute of Law at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Ministry of Civil Affairs; Women’s Studies Institute of China, an affiliate of the All-China Women’s Federation; and the China Association for NGO Cooperation.
Contact Information
For more information about these programs, use our contact form or contact:
Washington, D.C.
Marjan Ehsassi, Program Manager
(202) 728-5405
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