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Abstract
China’s gradual transition from a command economy to a market system has been vexed by its ailing state-owned enterprises (SOEs) employing huge numbers of surplus workers. Under the growing challenge of market competition, the survival of SOEs depends critically on the release of unwanted staff. If not handled well, however, massive layoffs could trigger ugly protests, erode social stability and challenge the governing mandate of the Chinese Communist Party. Facing this dilemma, the state’s response has been to invent a process of ‘imaging’ (off-duty employment) whereby redundant state workers can leave the production process without causing social turbulence, and to introduce a nationalprogramme of re-employment service centers (RSCs) which offer living allowances, social security, job training and re-employment assistance as a transitional measure. As a distinct form of unemployment, xiagang reflects the special challenge confronting the state and civil society in a critical stage of China’s market transition. This article sets out to explore the political and social meanings ofxiagang and the RSCs to elucidate how the state uses a specific social policy to balance both group and national interests and to steer the country on to the next stage of market development.

Keywords
Imaging (off-duty employment); Re-employment; China

Introduction
China’s gradual transition from a command economy to a market system has-been vexed by its ailing state-owned enterprises (SOEs) employing huge numbers of surplus workers. In the face of the growing challenge of market competition, the survival of SOEs depends critically on the release of redundant staffing order to raise efficiency. A massive lay-off, if not handled well, would trigger ugly protests, threaten social stability, and challenge the governing mandate of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Facing this dilemma, the state’s response has been to invent a process ofxiagang (off-duty employment) as a transitional measure whereby redundant state workers can leave the production process without causing social turbulence. In official parlance, the guiding principle was ‘to seek progress while maintaining stability’ (Lee).As a state between open unemployment and employment,xiagang, which literally means ‘stepping down from one’s work post’, refers to the situation in which workers are given no productive tasks and are placed on extended leave. According to official definition,xiagangpersonnel refers to ‘workers who, because of the situation relating to production and operation of their employing units, have left their original work posts and have not been given any other assignments in their work units, but still maintain labor relations with their original employers’ (Zhongguo Tong jib(China Statistics), In essence,xiagangis a form of institutional unemployment arising from the special context of China’s gradual passage from plan to market.

References
Chen, Fang, The Re-employment Project in Shanghai: institutional workings and consequences for workers, China Information,
China Labor Statistical Yearbook, various issues.
Ago Dingdong, The related policies and effectiveness of the Re-employment Project implemented in Shanghai. Unpublished research report, Shanghai: Population Institute, East China Normal University.本论文由英语论文网提供整理，提供论文代写，英语论文代写，代写论文，代写英语论文，代写留学生论文，代写英文论文，留学生论文代写相关核心关键词搜索。