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Abstract
The present paper explores the process of an applied anthropology research project at one of the most controversial and politically sensitive recent development project, The Three Gorges Project in the People's Republic of China. The size and complexity of the project, as well as political sensitivities, impacted on the choice of research strategies and methodologies. Ultimately, it is the relationship between the researcher and the collaborative partner that is the most valuable resource for negotiating complex political landscapes.
Notes
∗This research was undertaken for a PhD Dissertation conducted in the School of Anthropology, Geography and Environmental Studies at The University of Melbourne, Australia.
1. Two major surveys were completed in the Three Gorges Resettlement Area before 1997. The first was a survey of 614 rural resettlers and 461 urban resettlers by Sichuan Three Gorges College in 1994 (Li Citation2000), which investigated resettlers' attitudes towards the project and resettlement focusing on variations according to age. The second survey, by the Department of Psychology at Central China Normal University in 1995, examined the social psychology of the resettlers (Li, 2000). In 1997, Li (2000) surveyed 576 people over eight counties in Hubei Province and Chongqing City, gathering information about resettlers' identity, household status, willingness to move, attitudes towards the relocation scheme, problems faced by resettlers and the experience and view of the resettlers after relocation. In 2001, Duan and Steil (Citation2003) undertook an investigation of resettlement in Zigui County. They focused on rural resettlement and the evolution of changes to resettlement policy and practice. In 2001, the Resettlement Bureau of the Three Gorges Project Construction Committee (TGPCC) produced a summary report of the main population data of the Project area; however, it remains unpublished and is only available in Chinese. Also in 2001, Tan and Wang, from the University of Adelaide, Australia, and Sichuan University, Chengdu, respectively, surveyed four villages in Kaixian County of the Chongqing section, investigating compensation arrangements for resettlers and the land use of rural resettlers (Tan & Wang Citation2003). Between 2002 and 2003, a team of researchers from Birmingham University and Nanjing University conducted a large survey of psychological stress among 975 designated migrants (Hwang, Xi, Cao, Feng & Qiao Citation2007). In 2004, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences completed a study of 1050 households in the Three Gorges Resettlement Area that was primarily concerned with human rights and the attitudes of resettlers (L. Niu, personal communication, 8 January 2004).
2. The figures range from 725,000 people to less than 2 million people, with Chinese academics and government estimating the lowest numbers and foreign academics, foreign correspondents and activists approximating a much larger population. However, 1.13 million is the figure most commonly cited and will remain the reference for this paper.
3. Pseudonyms have been used to protect the identity of both the researcher and university involved.
4. The system of household registration in China identifies a person as a resident of an area—workers are generally categorised as rural or urban. Typically grain rations, health care and education were only available for those living within their registered area, but because of the reforms and a shift towards a user-pays approach, these benefits are less pertinent. For the present study, it denoted whether participants were shifted off the land, remained on the land or resettled to urban areas. Rural dwellers moving to urban areas had their hukou altered to urban status.
5. Wang Bin and I explained the importance of informed consent and that the participant must be willing to be involved and that they can only make that decision once the research is explained. The students were provided with a plain language statement in Chinese as backup and were asked to ensure that the resettlers knew that the information that they provided would be kept confidential, in a password-controlled database and a locked filing cabinet for a period of 5 years, after which it would be destroyed. The participants were also told that at any time they could stop their involvement in the research. Given that many of the resettlers could not read or write, verbal informed consent was obtained. So as to ensure anonymity, we did not ask the resettlers to sign any consent forms. The resettlers were also asked if they would be willing to be revisited for a follow-up interview with a foreign researcher. It was explained to them that their details would all be kept on a secure database. Their names were also collected separate from the questionnaire and were coded to ensure anonymity. These codes were available only to Wang Bin and me. If the participants agreed, then their contact details were collected at the conclusion of the questionnaire.
6. The ‘production team’ was formerly the farm production unit under the people's commune system and, although largely disbanded, the farmers in Leijiaping still organised themselves around this pattern of farming.
7. It is important to note that the village leaders also consented to be interviewed and to the completion of a survey in their villages. However, they were not involved in the selection of households and did not accompany us during the survey or interviews to ensure the anonymity of the households. Moreover, the households we visited could not be seen from the village offices.