From Parochial Activism to National Collective Action : The Changing Landscape of Minban Teachers’ Activism in China

Former minban teachers have become one of the most vocal and organized claims-making groups in China. Their mobilization has escalated from local protests to national collective actions, yet the government has refused to make further concessions. This study seeks to understand why teachers’ initially localized protests developed into national collective actions and why the government remains unresponsive to their demands. It argues that the pattern of state–teacher interactions is shaped by a policy concession dilemma. In the 1990s and early 2000s, when city- and county-level governments were primarily responsible for policy improvisation, cross-locality policy differences created widespread perceptions of unfairness among teachers and generated protests targeting local authorities. A favorable policy change in one locality often triggered protests in other counties or cities. When provincial governments took over the responsibility for making policy changes, they became the targets of teacher contention within their respective provinces. To avoid becoming the focal point of blame from all teachers, the central government resolutely refused to make further policy changes to accommodate teachers. Currently, state–teacher interactions have become entrenched in a vicious cycle, wherein both central and local authorities deliberately avoid making further policy concessions, further pushing desperate teachers to escalate their mobilization to pressure authorities into addressing their grievances.