Chinese Journal of Sociology

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Chinese Farmers’ Environmental Justice and Action Approach: A Case Study on Environmental Complaint in Xiaoxi Village

Author: Liu Chunyan,School of Sociology, Shanghai University; Chinese Transformation and Social Organization Research Centre of Shanghai University.   

  1. Author: Liu Chunyan,School of Sociology, Shanghai University; Chinese Transformation and Social Organization Research Centre of Shanghai University.
  • Online:2012-01-20 Published:2012-01-20
  • Contact: Liu Chunyan,School of Sociology, Shanghai University; Chinese Transformation and Social Organization Research Centre of Shanghai University. E-mail:liuchunyan@shu.edu.cn
  • About author:作者:刘春燕上海大学社会学院、上海大学中国社会转型与社会组织研究中心(Author: Liu Chunyan,School of Sociology, Shanghai University; Chinese Transformation and Social Organization Research Centre of Shanghai University) Email: liuchunyan@shu.edu.cn
  • Supported by:

    **The paper was funded by the Education Committee of Shanghai, as part of the program “Study on Economy in Chinese Rural Community”(224704).

Abstract:

 It is important to do some close examinations of environmental justice in local. Such pluralistic notions of environmental justice beyond the mainstream meaning of west countries, and will be the premises of global environmental governance. This paper provides a case study on environmental complaint in china, shows the local meaning of environmental justice. Few owners of the tungsten mine factory make a great profit by monopoly and free utilizing common resources, but leave serious ecological disaster in the local with zero cost on environment use. The phenomenon of ‘individual gain but collective pay’ is the character in China today, which is also the root leading to villagers’ unjust feelings and complaints. Environmental justice in China is different from its western definition, it is not ‘fair shares’ of the environmental benefits and harms, and not in formal structures of environmental government and policy, but collective responsibility of government and enterprises which get great benefits from the common environment freely.

Key words: Chinese farmers,, environmental justice,, government,enterprise,, collective responsibility