Permalink : http://hdl.handle.net/2115/75300

KEYWORDS : Privatisation of Rural Industry;Retainment of Village Workers;Southern Jiangsu Model

Fei Xiaotong advocated a collective village and township enterprise-based rural industrialisation path for China, known as the 'Southern Jiangsu Model'. It has contributed greatly to the rise of rural income. The essence of such a rural industrialisation path is to allow the rural surplus labour force to leave farming but stay in villages instead of emigrating to large cities. Rural industrial enterprises are the key to absorbing surplus labour and raising rural income at the same time. However, this model began to face serious challenges in the late 1990s due to problems with the business model of collective ownership. In contrast, a private enterprise-cum-path, known as the 'WenzhouModel' has gained popularity. With this new approach, China's rural industrialisation has moved towards private ownership and private management. Now, with the new trend of the 'WenzhouModel', has the 'SouthernJiangsuModel' which favours village internal employment disappeared? To answer this question, this paper examines Kaixiangong Village, the very place where Fei's rural industrialisation path was originated, to see changes after privatisation of local collective enterprises. We argue that it is the village cadres-turned private managers that have inherited the legacy of prioritising village internal employment whereby the fruition of rural industrialisation regarding more rural job oportunities (and more rural income) continues.