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The International Republican Institute (IRI) began working in China in 1993. For nearly 15 years, IRI has supported the efforts of Chinese reformers in the government, academic and nonprofit sectors to promote electoral reform, good governance, the rule of law and the development of an open and vibrant civil society.
Together with Chinese partners, IRI works to develop positive change in China, while increasing mutual understanding and cooperation between China and the United States. From 1994 to 2003, following China’s introduction of the Organic Law on Villagers’ Committees (1987), IRI was the first international organization involved in observing local level elections for village committees, and sponsoring workshops on national and provincial election regulations and procedures for local election officials. At the same time, IRI worked with the National People’s Congress to hold specialized sessions on important topics in legal reform and with the Supreme People’s Court to train judges on new laws. In 1997, IRI and China’s Ministry of Justice held the first international symposium on legal aid for the indigent.
More recently, IRI has expanded the scope of its programs to assist China’s emerging civil society organizations to enhance their ability to serve their communities, engage government, and expand political participation by women and minority groups. As China continues to undergo rapid economic development, civil society groups are emerging in greater numbers to advocate for communities and constituencies whose interests are not prioritized in the governmental decision making processes. IRI's work is intended to support those individuals and institutions in China who are working to expand the dialogue for reform at both the grassroots and the national levels.
Local Electoral and Governance Reform
In 1994, IRI became the first western organization permitted to observe Chinese village elections. Since then, IRI has observed close to 60 elections in provinces throughout the country. Although there is wide variation in the quality of grassroots elections, in provinces where IRI has been able to observe multiple rounds of elections, significant improvements were observed.
 IRI’s village election programs focused on the importance of transparent elections, and training election administrators on how to organize and run open and transparent elections in accordance with Chinese laws and principles. IRI's electoral workshops emphasized the importance of abiding by the law in the implementation of elections and looked at specific elements of multi-candidate elections, candidate selection procedures, voter registration, proper polling place procedures, the use of secret ballots and transparent vote tabulation.
IRI also trained the first-ever group of independent Chinese election monitors in international standards of evaluating elections. They monitored and reported on village-level elections throughout the country, providing valuable oversight to this important process. In recent years, IRI has worked to further support electoral reform and advances in China.
In the 1990s, IRI also began conducting trainings in the fundamentals of transparent and accountable governance for newly elected village committee heads. In addition to governance skills, IRI programs focus on budgeting and financial management and economic development. IRI has also worked with specialists in think tanks and policy institutes to analyze local government functions and make recommendations to improve governance. Recent projects have focused on the government’s provision of public goods and services at the local level and with farmers’ associations.
Developing Civil Society
Civil Society Initiatives
The pace of civil society development in China has been remarkable. Today, in China, there are thousands of groups that identify themselves as nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) or community-based groups working on a multitude of societal, economic and political issues. IRI has expanded its work with some of these civil society groups to strengthen their ability to work with their constituencies as they become leaders on issues related to China’s political and social development.
IRI’s capacity building trainings and support for small civil society organizations have enhanced their ability to help members of some of China’s most vulnerable groups, including ethnic minorities, rural women, those living with HIV/AIDS and migrant workers.
Women’s Initiatives
 In recent years, IRI’s work with women has become a priority. Since 2001, IRI has been working with its Chinese partners on projects that have increased the number of women actively participating in local village affairs by running for office and taking on leadership roles at the rural level. Training has highlighted such issues as improving communication skills, gaining the trust of voters, building networks of supporters, election campaigning, as well as political and civic participation.
Through a project that introduced the importance of rural women’s political participation to a younger generation of women in China, a pool of capable women with the potential to lead has emerged. A more recent initiative focuses on promoting and protecting women’s rights via a network of correspondents able to report on rights violations and gather data on larger trends affecting women in the workplace, family and society.
HIV/AIDS NGO Strengthening
In 2007, IRI worked with the HIV/AIDS community to elect an NGO representative to the China Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Country Coordinating Mechanism. This election process also yielded a coalition of NGOs representing different constituencies affected by the diseases. The coalition is working together to expand communication among NGOs, and between NGOs and government officials, to advocate a larger role for civil society and grassroots organizations in providing and monitoring public health services, and to eliminate discrimination.
This first of its kind civic institution, a national body elected by more than 120 NGOs from across China, has the potential to become a model for NGO cooperation and liaison with domestic and international stakeholders. Furthermore, IRI is supporting a new watchdog organization that seeks to provide in-depth analysis and increased transparency on Global Fund projects in China and Chinese health policy surrounding HIV/AIDS work.
Party Politics
IRI has worked with several groups of Chinese officials and researchers to provide a broader understanding of multi-party political systems and the relevance of such systems to China’s domestic politics. IRI conducted this program by bringing several government representatives and academics on research missions to the U.S. and convened a conference on “Party Politics: Models, Theories and Practices” with both Chinese and international participants. IRI also worked with the Central Party School to open a theoretical debate on political party and governance reform. IRI instituted this program through two substantive conferences held in China, one on internal party democracy and grassroots political participation and the other on the role of parties in building service-oriented local government. |
