Encouraging "grassroots employment" for Chinese University graduates : promotion of "socialist citizenship" under incentive schemes

Document Type

Journal article

Source Publication

China: An International Journal

Publication Date

11-2017

Volume

15

Issue

4

First Page

22

Last Page

42

Publisher

NUS Press Pte Ltd.

Abstract

Why are Chinese university graduates, who in the past avoided socio-economically backward rural areas, willing to start their careers in such areas today? This research argues that the Chinese authorities have promoted “grassroots employment” for university graduates through preferential policies together with the values of “socialist citizenship”. However, the preferential policies actually reflect a different value of “instrumental utilitarianism” which resonates well with the dominant youth culture. This article examines the promotional strategies of four “grassroots employment” programmes in order to determine whether the popularity of the four programmes is due to the success of “socialist citizenship” or to the preferential policies. The benefits, difficulties and prospects of achieving the objectives of these “grassroots employment” programmes are briefly evaluated. The main conclusions are that the authorities have used “socialist citizenship” as a camouflage and that the preferential policies have accentuated youths’ enthusiasm to join the programmes.

Print ISSN

02197472

E-ISSN

02198614

Publisher Statement

Copyright © 2017 China: An International Journal. Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.

Full-text Version

Publisher’s Version

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Chan, C.-p. (2017). Encouraging "grassroots employment" for Chinese University graduates: Promotion of "socialist citizenship" under incentive schemes. China: An International Journal, 15(4), 22-42. Retrieved from https://muse.jhu.edu/article/680682

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