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Although scholars have long been interested in distinguishing gift giving from bribery, the impact of the degree of guanxi between a giver and a recipient on this distinction remains unclear. Drawing on a bystander perspective, this paper investigates how people distinguish between two types of giving behavior: gift giving and bribing. In three studies, we examined how guanxi (Study 1, n = 143 Chinese students), the price of a present (Study 2, including 106 students and 55 employees), and the motivation for giving a present (Study 3, n = 33 Chinese students) influence people's perception of a present (i.e., as a gift or a bribe). The results largely supported our expectation that presents were more likely to be considered a bribe when guanxi utility was high, if the present held high economic value, and if the giving motivation was instrumental-oriented. Implications of our findings for future research and business practitioners in Chinese culture are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the medical practice in China, giving and taking "red envelopes" (monetary gifts) is a common phenomenon although few openly admit it. This paper, based on our empirical study including data collected from interviews and questionnaires with medical professionals and patients, attempts to explore why "red envelopes" have become a serious problem in the physician-patient relationship and how the situation can be improved. Previous studies show that scholars tend to correlate the spread of "red envelopes" in health care sector to the commercialization trend, the general erosion of traditional values, and the lowering of the moral level in the medical field. However, in this paper, the authors argue that medical professionals' choice of taking "red envelopes" is actually more a way to compensate for their problematic self-image and marred dignity in real practice. Medical professionals in China as a whole are in an embarrassing situation where the work pressure and income, and the sense of pride that used to be part of their profession are not comparable to each other. Under this circumstance, we believe that the effective way to deal with the "red envelopes" issue does not lie solely in introducing more stringent regulations or granting medical professionals higher payments, but rather in protecting and enhancing the professional dignity of all those working in healthcare. And on top of that, there must also be effort to cultivate a more favorable moral environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ivory bans are among the critical policy instruments used to strengthen regulation, reduce ivory trade, and ultimately aim to benefit elephant conservation. China imposed a comprehensive ban in 2018 to prohibit ivory importation for commercial purposes and domestic ivory sales with narrow exemptions. The ban has significantly changed China's ivory policy direction and substantially restricted the international and domestic trade of ivory in China. In this paper, we identify the development and limitations and potential for improvement. The ivory ban closed domestic sales and banned trophy ivory and pre-convention ivory imports. However, the sentencing exemptions, the exemptions for returning and auctioning ivory cultural relics, gifting ivory gifts and the unrestricted mammoth ivory trade, weaken the ivory policy and its conservation potential. Based on our analysis, we suggest that prosecution or penalties exemptions in ivory crimes may require further review to ensure regulatory deterrence effectiveness; ambiguous regulations for exempted ivory cultural relics need clear criteria for policy implementation; ivory gifting as allowed in the law requires explicit measures to prevent illegal exchange; the rising mammoth ivory markets may need regulatory management prevent 'laundering' elephant ivory. In conclusion, China's ivory control is promoted by the trade ban, yet the effectiveness of ivory policy still faces challenges in prosecution and penalty exemptions, import and auction trade exemptions, monitoring of gift giving and open mammoth ivory trade. • Sentencing, ban exemptions and mammoth ivory trade limit China's ivory policy • The exempted ivory amounts in sentencing rules for ivory crimes has increased. • Allowing ivory cultural relics to be imported and auctioned challenges regulations. • Ivory gift exchange as allowed in the current law lacks monitoring measures. • The unrestricted mammoth ivory trade may need regulation for ivory trade control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Qing emperors, who ruled over China from 1644 to 1911, managed to bring large parts of Inner Asia under their control and extended the territory of China to an unprecedented degree. This paper maintains that the political technique of patronage with its formalized language, its emphasis on gift exchange and expressions of courtesy is a useful concept for explaining the integration of Inner Asian confederations into the empire. By re-interpreting the obligations of gift exchange, the Qing transformed the network of personal relationships, which had to be reinforced and consolidated permanently, into a system with clearly defined rules. In this process of formalization, the Lifanyuan, the Court for the Administration of the Outer Regions, played a key role. While in the early years of the dynasty, it was responsible for collecting and disseminating information concerning the various patronage relationships with Inner Asian leaders, over the course of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries its efforts were directed at standardizing and streamlining the contacts between ethnic minorities and the state. Through the Lifanyuan, the rules and principles of patronage were maintained in a modified form even in the later part of the dynasty, when the Qing exercised control in the outer regions more directly. The paper provides an explanation for the longevity and cohesiveness of the multi-ethnic Qing Empire. Based on recently published Manchu and Mongol language archival material and the Maussian concept of gift exchange, the study sheds new light on the changing self-conception of the Qing emperors. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]