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An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including orientation of the Asian governments in welfare provision for the poor, community development practice in China, and migrant labor in Singapore.

In the early 1950s, China developed an urban governance system, which always had a dual function: providing community services and exercising sociopolitical control, to ensure stability of an organized society. The economic reforms of the late 1970s, however, made the system obsolete. In 2000, China adopted a community-building policy to renew its urban governance system, in which residents' committees (RCs), self-governing mass organizations, have been assigned a major role. However, as the base of the system, RCs have been overburdened by numerous administrative responsibilities. Over-administration consequentially challenges their self-governing mandate. To resolve these double predicament, community work stations (CWSs) are being tried. This paper examines four CWS models and discusses the impacts of CWS on RCs and on the urban governance system. The paper argues that as an incremental policy response in a social engineering process, the role of CWSs in China's urban governance system is yet to be decided, particularly when they may pose challenges to the original policy intent of the community construction policy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In 1978, when economic reform began in China, it was the party-state-controlled people's organizations that were most deeply involved in people's work and social life. For example, the official trade union, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU), was the one and only legal organization representing workers. Although people who worked for state-owned enterprises were mostly unionized under the umbrella of the ACFTU, the new migrant workers in private enterprises were basically unorganized. Since the mid-1990s, labour activists, some of whom are supported by the international civil society, have tried to establish an alternative form of organization, specifically labour non-governmental organizations (NGOs), for migrant workers. The labour NGOs are concentrated in the Pearl River Delta of South China and provide services in migrant workers' settlement communities. This paper evaluates the degree to which the labour NGOs have maintained a relatively autonomous civil society space for the vulnerable migrant workers and nurtured a democratic form of labour organization. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The recent phase of economic globalization has constituted a social context of deteriorating opportunity and increasing risk for disadvantaged communities in Hong Kong. While different studies have shown the ‘revitalization’ of the significance of the community in general and community work service in particular in most developed countries to further the interests of disadvantaged groups, the survival of the community development service in Hong Kong has been threatened by the government's intention to cut it. New initiatives, however, were started by the government to tap resources from the community to provide help to individuals and families in need without utilizing the existing community development programme that emphasizes community empowerment. This paper first examines the relationship between the global impact and the community work service in the developed countries. It then analyses the changing role of the service consequential upon the actions of the Hong Kong government in mediating the global impact. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Instead of claiming responsibility in caring for its citizens from cradle to grave, China now emphasizes ‘small government and big society’ in its allocation of social services. In one southwest province of China, as a result of the urban Community Residents Committee (CRC) Organization Acts of 1989, the CRC has become the core of social services in this region and is on the front line of social service delivery. This paper reports the results of a field study on the CRC at a number of pilot demonstration sites in this province. Focus group discussions were conducted in order to identify characteristics and patterns of committee members’ experiences. Thematic patterns undergirding the future development of urban community-based social services in China are identified and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses findings of a study on community development in Beijing, China, as of February 2017. It states the impact of the economic reform of the socialist economy in 1978 on community development in the country, and mentions that the reform included the development of social work as a profession. It notes that non-state social organizations are becoming significant in the delivery of social services, and cites impact of migrant laborers in major cities.

The article focuses on findings of a study on neoliberalization and community development practices in Hong Kong, China, as of January 2017. It states that neoliberalism has been a dominant force for change in the policies and practices affecting many aspects of society, and mentions that community development services have undergone significant changes under the influence of neoliberalization. It notes that significance of development of entrepreneurial skills and capacities.

The article focuses on findings of a study on Shequ, or community, construction and service development in urban China, as of January 2017. It states that Chinese government has a prominent role in regulating societal development, and mentions that purposes of shequ construction like fortifying the power of local governments. It notes that sheq was created by Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) and mentions community development in Shenzhen, China.

Tourism is recognized as a rural development mechanism in terms of its socio-economic contribution towards rural communities, such as creating local rural incomes and employment, contributing local amenities and services, and aiding local cultural resources conservation. However, a case study in the scenic Grape Valley in Turpan, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China, suggests that the local community does not equally share the socio-economic benefits of tourism activities. In order to maximize the benefits of tourism for the local community, a 'collaborative governance' approach in situ (the village level) is needed to encourage governmental and non-governmental cooperation and promote grassroots 'bottom-up' development practices. However, in the Chinese context, any governance approach needs to acknowledge the government's traditional 'steering' role in society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hong Kong sees a new wave of community organization and resistance brought by urban redevelopment and social work reform after 2003. Its goals resemble that of anti-urban redevelopment community organizing in Vancouver in the 1970s. Yet the community organizers and residents painstakingly opt for unprecedented professional means. This strategy works exceptionally well to achieve Alinsky's original goals. This article compares these scenarios to analyse the considerations and effectiveness of this new strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including maps in community development, the social conditions in poor communities in Hong Kong, China, and the role of leadership in enhancing community social capital.

This exploratory study of three women organizers in Hong Kong reveals their clear positions in the web of identities comprising social workers, community workers, workers working with women, and feminist organizers. There is no common identity among them and they may or may not see the relevance of a feminist analysis to their work. The resistance to a feminist identity is explained in the perceived style of feminists, the focus of the women's movement and also the essentialist nature of the concept of ‘women’. The resistance to the social work identity is explained in their perceived characteristics of social work practiced in the local context. Community organizing for structural change is increasingly being viewed as in conflict with social work. While diversity is definitely appreciated, that social work, community practice, and feminist perspectives are intriguingly connected to a mission that address various forms of oppression has to be recognized. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article briefly introduces the history and major policies of a massive community construction project launched by the People's Republic of China in the mid-1980s. Based on a literature review and field observations, the authors highlight four characteristics of this project: muddling through chaos, top-down control, regulated participation, and community as functional establishment. It is argued that the goal of the project is not to recreate, in China, a Western model of civil society, but to restructure the existing urban administrative structure so that it can adapt to new social demands. By transforming the grassroots neighbourhood organization – the residents' committee – into a welfare provider, this project is expected to ease the state's welfare burden while maintaining its political control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that 'community eclipse' theorized by Chicago ecological sociologists is not caused 'naturally', but by the constellation of economic, socio-cultural and political factors. Hong Kong, a former British colony, has undergone urbanization-cum-industrialization and experienced a demise of community spirit. Industrialization set the stage for urbanization, while the property-led economy spurred unscrupulous urban renewal. Government public housing and new town policies spurred urban sprawl, disrupted pre-existent communities and uprooted the residents. The local people attended to 'capitalistic consciousness' and pragmatic concerns rather than communitarian precepts. Social capital should be nurtured in revitalizing the eclipsed communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]