The Gated Communities in China

Despite popular belief that the Chinese have no established concept of privacy. Pow Choon-Piew points out that both modern and traditional China have practices of privacy and private property. Choon-Piew makes this clear by referring to the late imperial era, when the country had a widespread sense of privacy. Moreover, individuals, especially the elite class, understood the benefits of privacy during this time. In one of his Confucian works entitled The Analects, Choo-Piew disliked the forced intrusion of educated Chinese into what they considered their private sphere. (Choo-Piew, 2012).

Wealthy families built high walls around their homes to show that the right to secrecy was considered as a task of an individual’s status and space in the whole society, to prevent other people from making unnecessary intrusions. On the other hand, the right of intrusion into other people’s private space was also tied to one’s power and status. The author contends that privacy in the customary Chinese culture was organized in a hierarchically that is the superiors enjoyed more privacy compared to those in lower ranks socially and economically and not the other way around. The author gives an account of how eminent Chinese literary figures like Xu Guangping and her lover Lu Xun managed to keep their intimate lives and love letters private (Choon-Piew, 2012).

Political changes and the emphasis on public interests. Nonetheless, regardless of the well-cultured tradition of private property in China, the political changes of the 20th century stressed on the prominence of the public over personal interests. The emphasis of public service and the objectives of Chinese leader for the better part of the 20th century are mainly responsible for the common perception across the globe that the country does not value privacy.

The absence of intimate space and privacy in Shanghai. Due to the overcrowded nature of Shanghai, the absence of intimate space and privacy is a major issue for the residents, especially in the traditional neighborhoods. The growth of the new commodity housing districts has made it possible for families to move into independent houses which provide them with privacy. The new housing units offer individual freedom and the possibility of individuals leading a more autonomous life (Choon-Piew, 2012).

Government interference and communal control. However, the freedom and privacy are not normally available to everyone as a sizeable amount of resources are required to secure a private home. In the socialist China, the authoritarian regime had managed to hijack the society into an enormous national administration. According to the author, the socialist government in China played the role of a communal housekeeper where the individual wellbeing adopted collective interests. A perfect example of how the government interfered with the private space is the regulation of the country’s reproductive activities where an obligatory Household Registration System and family planning system existed. The Household Registration System commonly known as hukou assisted the government in determining and restricting the housing area of each family (Choon-Piew, 2012).

Decline of state control and the growth of personal autonomy. Nonetheless, since the deterioration of the authoritarian system, the modern government has withdrawn from some of the overriding roles it had on people’s lives. The deterioration of government roles in people daily lives has created chances for interacting outside the states watch. As a result, China has experienced a massive rise in the construction of private housing and gated communities. Therefore, the massive construction of gated communities in China can be understood as the decline of state control and the growth of personal and household autonomy.

Reference

Choon-Piew, P. (2012). Gated communities in China: Class, privilege and the moral politics of the good life. London: Routledge.