ABSTRACT
The state-sponsored association established for small businesses goes under the name of the Self-Employed Labourers Association (SELA), a title harking back to an earlier era. In the Pudong district of Shanghai, the SELA has 40 township branches, with a medium size town having about 600 members. Although membership of the township SELA is, in principle, voluntary, in reality, all private businesses are persuaded to join and those who refuse are treated as troublemakers.
