Editorial

China’s unprecedented changes of demographic and family patterns over the past few decades have posed great challenges to the existing social welfare system. The weakening ability of family in providing care calls for more responsibility from the state and other social sectors. The concept of social governance proposed by the Chinese government symbolises the shift in the way welfare is delivered, from state dominance to co-production of the government and non-governmental organisations. Social work as a profession plays an increasingly critical role in social governance, so named ‘service-oriented governance’, through responding to social needs and solving social problems in a professional manner (Wang 2014). While having gathered much momentum in recent decades, it should be noted that the development of social work in China is still in its elementary stage. Rigid research on different levels of practice, taking into consideration the unique political and cultural environment and context, is urgently needed.

The rapidly ageing population has triggered concern about fiscal stress and the unsustainability of the social security system. Based on census data, Zeng and Zhang’s study simulates the future total fertility rate (TFR) and examines the effect of one-child policy change on the occurrence of pension deficit. Their study finds that the relaxing of one-child control has a positive effect on the sustainability of pension balance on the condition that the fertility level increases steadily. However, more proactive social policies, particularly childcare subsidy, tax reduction for families with two children and work-family balance policies should be in place in order to achieve the expected effect. Caregiving is another challenge for the ageing population. The quality of elderly care has attracted great attention and discussion in social work. Although family still undertakes the main responsibility in providing care to the elderly in Chinese culture, more and more elder people are taken care of in institutions. Li, Chen and Zheng’s study finds that loneliness is quite prevalent among institutionalised elders. Social support is found negatively associated with loneliness in the context of life in institutions, e.g. frequent interaction with caregivers and friends. Interestingly, this study finds that more interaction with children may increase the loneliness of elder people living in institutions. Although more explanation is needed regarding this phenomenon, it is worth investigating more about the different roles family and institutions are playing in providing quality care for the elderly in China.

During the dramatic socioeconomic transition, some specific groups in China encounter extraordinary difficulty in receiving care support from families and communities because of poverty and social exclusion. People living with HIV/AIDS in rural areas are among the most vulnerable in China. Zhang and Souleymanov’s study, by focusing on people who are HIV/AIDS virus carriers due to commercial plasma donations in the mid-1990s, illustrates the negative impact of the disease on their economic and social life. Their study finds that this group tends to be excluded from mainstream society in various ways, resulting in economic hardship and significant problems of employment and social participation. It is critical for social work practice in this scenario to provide both needed services and advocacy for their social inclusion.

Over the past few decades, under the influence of New Public Management (NPM), contracting-out has been widely used in social services delivery that was previously implemented within the government system in China. Service contracting or so-called socialisation of welfare services provides opportunities for the involvement of professional social work. Nonetheless, as the literature has shown, contracting-out of social services faces typical challenges like inadequacy of the competition, limited government capacity of oversight and evaluation, high transaction cost, etc. (DeHoog 1985; Van Slyke 2002). Based on a community service programme in Guangdong, Lin and Li’s study investigates the impact of competitive contracting on the provision of community services, demonstrating the similar issues as in the West although different institutional and cultural contexts should also be taken into consideration.

Mo’s study of a small-scale social work organisation presents another case indicating the impact on social service organisations of changing the institutional environment. The uncertainty of funding policy demanded more flexibility of the organisational structures and strategies in responding to the external challenges. This study shows that a 3PE (People, Process, Product and Environment) model derived from the industrial engineering field was useful in helping a small NGO to adapt to the environment and minimise its survival risks. The organisation was able to restructure itself in order to meet external requirements. These two research cases have important implications for social work practice in China’s socioeconomic transition. Social workers in the field need to have a thorough understanding of the broader policy arena and respond to external environment challenges in innovative ways.

By using China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study cross-sectional survey in 2011, Sun, Li and Yu’s study finds social capital at both individual and community levels are positively correlated with better subjective self-rated health status. In their study, they also find the male respondents who live in urban, have higher income or own better marital status generally have a better self-rated health status. Furthermore, the age variable shows a strongly negative effect on self-rated health. All these findings contribute to social work practice and policy planning for elderly services.

Liu, Zhai and Gao’s study provides updated evidence on how parental acculturation and social support were associated with parenting in Chinese immigrant families. The results from multivariate regressions with a rich array of control variables showed that parents’ cultural preferences for friends, food and TV programmes of other cultures were significantly associated with more parental nurturance and less intergenerational conflict. They also find perceived social support played a significant mediating role in the relationships between parental acculturation and nurturance. The findings help social service professionals to have a better understanding of the needs in supporting positive parenting behaviours and promoting intergenerational relationships in Chinese immigrant families.

The recently finished Nineteenth CPC National Congress in Beijing declared China is entering a ‘new era’ of development with both opportunities and challenges ahead. The Congress stated that the principal contradiction facing China has now changed to the contradiction between unbalanced and inadequate development and people’s ever-growing needs for a better life (Xinhuanet 2017). Bearing this in mind, social work’s participation in the new era of the country’s development is critical, given the profession’s historical commission to promoting a better life and a better society.

Suo Deng
Executive Editor
Peking University
[email protected]
Hok-bun Ku
Executive Editor
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
[email protected]