Development of Social Organizations in Taiwan
My main field of study is health and illness in the context of Chinese culture, and at present I am concentrating on the social and cultural aspects of the AIDS issue. During fieldwork in Taiwan in which my aim was to investigate public health issues using the methodological tools of anthropology, official bodies as well as social organizations involved in the AIDS campaign, its prevention and care, have been approached. My experience of working with civic bodies has been very stimulating at both personal and academic levels, so much so, my interest in such social organizations has become a sideline subject of my research and this is what I want to discuss in this article.By Evelyne Micollier
Since the 1980s, economic growth and political liberalization have contributed to the emergence of a civil society in Taiwan: the development of the non-profit sector has undergone a new and unprecedented phase. This process is a dynamic component of social change and offers an interesting perspective on the emergence of 'civil society'.While the legal framework and historical background of civic bodies is relevant to law and political science, studying the working methods of these organizations in daily life, human relationships, team building, and networking at a micro-social scale is highly consistent with an anthropological approach. Social organizations have the capacity to access those margins of society, government bodies cannot easily reach. The state in Taiwan has delegated the management of politically sensitive social issues. Although the government has been slow to act in launching national awareness, a modern AIDS campaign has gradually taken shape in Taiwan, with the help of the non-profit sector working in conjunction with official bodies. Management of social issues involves effective collaboration between the actors in civil society and the state (Micollier 1999).
The Emergence of Civil Society
In contrast to the kinship system, civil society is part of the political community. Representative of progressive forces which cannot deploy themselves within the framework of a backward state monopolizing social change and political power, it organizes itself as the opposition to the state. In the context of Chinese culture, Hsu Cho-Yun (1994) uses the word 'society' rather than 'civil society', arguing that the city-state organization has never existed in China, and that the notion of civil society is primarily closely related to the social reality of Greek and Roman antiquity. The growing role of the non-profit sector and the development of a civic culture constitute preliminary conditions for the emergence of a democracy. At the beginning of the 1980s, progressive forces found themselves gathered together in a political organization Dangwai 'Outside the Party': Taiwan was ruled by a Party-State, the Guomin dang 'nationalist Party', under a regime of martial law. Political pluralism came into effect in 1986 with the foundation of the Minjin dang 'Progressive Democratic Party' and was consolidated in 1987 with the lifting of martial law. This allowed progressive forces to diversify, reshaping themselves into non-political social organizations. For a decade, civic associations have taken various forms, diverging in their methods of working and social purposes. During the 1980s, civic freedom was gradually insinuated. In this process, religious freedom is even encouraged by the nationalist government which sees it as a remedy against the erosion of traditional values and morality. Debate about long tabooed matters is nowadays allowed and self-censored behaviour is steadily being abandoned. Cultural, ethnic and linguistic plurality in Taiwan is clearly taken for granted by people from the whole social spectrum. The role of tensions arising from identity in the process of democratization is well documented. Lay associations show non-traditional forms: they are centred neither on kinship group nor corporate networks, nor locality, nor proximity. Collaboration involving Taiwanese and foreign NGOs, religious groups which do not share religious affiliation - Christian and Buddhist groups - in the field of public health and education is now the order of the day. This seems very upbeat but there is a downside. Many local NGOs rely on one person, or at best a few persons and never on the whole team. Without these charismatic people, the NGO is drained of efficiency either by lack of funds or a shortage of human resources. Motives for joining are generally linked to the personality or status of a president rather than to a genuine involvement in a cause. This trend is indispensable in achieving a better understanding of social organizations in Taiwan. Civil society is still weak and immature, its very existence can be properly questioned, if the actors are not intimately drawn to causes by either belief of practices. As Cabestan (1999: 120) underlines, many Chinese people are unable to accept restrictions imposed by organized action which is not linked to their own immediate interests. This cultural feature contributes to slowing down the maturing process of Taiwanese civil society.
Non-profit sector
This sector can be differentiated into two categories : non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and endowment-centred foundations. By 1997, the number of Taiwanese NGOs including all types of political organizations had reached 12,000, a 50% rise compared to early 1990s. Membership figures are high: one Taiwanese out of five belongs to an NGO. More than 60% of the NGOs have been created in the 1980s and 1990s. Social service oriented, public interest, and charitable organizations account for 30% while academically, culturally and internationally aligned bodies make up more than 40%. In 1997, there were sixteen hundred foundations of all types. Three-quarters of them have been established since the 1980s. More than 70% are private, 25% are corporate foundations, 5% are mixed or governmental bodies. The sector is dominated by recently created non-governmental foundations. The increasing number of corporate foundations shows the growing interest of the private business sector in social issues. Following the same pattern as NGOs, welfare and charitable foundations constitute the top-ranking category ; research, education, culture, foreign exchanges, and social involvement account for the other high-ranking categories. Most of the foundations are operative rather than grant-giving organizations. This original feature suggests that foundations are not be clearly differenciated from NGOs except in a legal definition. The famous Buddhist foundation, Ciji, is the most significant private foundation in terms of endowment and lay support. The success of Ciji indicates the rise of a new conservatism. Religious organizations benefit the most from people's donations. The conservatism of Taiwanese public opinion appears clearly in its support to some social organizations rather than others. Civil society as observed through the lens of social organizations is still weak. Its emergence does not necessarily generate structural change allowing progressive voices to be heard: moreover, social order could be strenghtened and conservatism may be on the rise, seized as a way for the people to face drastic and rapid transformations of the Taiwanese society. References
- Cabestan, J.P. Le système politique de Taiwan, Paris: PUF, coll. 'Que sais-je?' no.1809, 1999
- Hsu, Cho-Yun 'Development of the State-Society Relationship in Early China' in Vandermeersch. L. (ed.) La société civile face à l'Etat dans les traditions chinoise, japonaise, coréenne et vietnammienne, Paris: EFEO, Etudes thematiques 3:1-16, 1994
- Micollier, E. 'Emergence de la société civile à Taiwan: vers une gestion collective des problèmes de santé' dans Zheng, C. (ed.) Taiwan: parcours d'identité, Paris: L'Harmattan, forthcoming, 1999
- 'Taiwan Report: The Non-profit Sector in Taiwan: Current state, new trends and future prospects', Background Paper delivered at the International Conference on Philanthropy, Asia Pacific Philanthropy Consortium, Bangkok, January 1998.
Dr Evelyne Micollier is an ESF Alliance Fellow, stationed at IIAS Amsterdam branch office. E-mail: micollier@pscw.uva.nl.