ABSTRACT
One of the remarkable illustrations of the development of civil society in China during the 1990s was the emergence of religious actors in social services provision (Tsai 2007; Eng and Lin 2002). One of the most path-breaking dimensions of this trend was the appeal launched by the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs (MOCA) to a transnational Taiwanese lay Buddhist philanthropic organization, the Tzu Chi Merit Society (Ciji gongdehui) to help some local governments provide aid and support following the 1991 flood disasters (Huang 2005; Laliberté 2003). This initiative was remarkable because it represented a departure from the international isolation that China had experienced after the massacre of 4 June 1989, heralded an improvement in relations with Taiwan, and suggested a new policy toward religious institutions. Although the acceptance of Tzu Chi in China in the wake of the severe floods may have seemed at the time a short-term government response to a crisis situation, it turned out in the end to represent a learning stage in a long-term strategy of supporting the development of China-based Buddhist charities. This chapter argues that the reliance on religious charities during the 1990s represents a new type of relationship between state and religion in response to challenges faced by central and local governments in the provision of social services. This relationship between the state and Buddhist philanthropic associations was institutionalized on the basis of a complex structure that was previously established to separately monitor religious affairs and manage social policy (Ying 2006; Leung 2005; Potter 2003). The first tier of organizations includes the “governmentorganized NGOs” (GONGOs) sponsored by ministries and bureaus set up by the State Council and local governments to manage social services for the whole population and for targeted populations such as orphans, disabled children, and victims of natural disasters. Buddhist associations at the central, provincial, and local levels represent a second tier of organizations that have to report to bureaus for religious affairs or bureaus for minorities and religious affairs at corresponding and higher levels of administration. NGOs and independent charities, some of which have connections in Hong Kong, Taiwan, or abroad, represent a third tier of association. This third tier, established independently of the official Buddhist associations, has expanded significantly in the past two decades (FS 2007; Gen 2006; Fang 2001).
