Fairbank Center Environment in Asia Lecture Series

Alex Wang
Professor of Law, UCLA School of Law

At the heart of debates over Chinese rule of law is the question of state legitimacy. Critics argue that legitimacy requires liberal democratic rule of law. Chinese leaders have long relied on performance legitimacy — economic development and maintenance of social stability — as the core basis of their rule. Western scholarship on modern Chinese law and politics has, to a significant degree, critiqued the ability of China’s current institutions to perform as claimed.

But apart from any actual results that Chinese governance may generate, the entire project of governance reform can be structured in a way that influences public impressions of state legitimacy. The process of reform is not only about attaining performance goals, but is itself a kind of performance. This act of “performing performance” also signals competence, commitment to the people, tradition, nationalist strength, and a host of other positive values to citizens and other audiences.

This talk explores the symbolic aspects of Chinese environmental reform and potential implications, drawing on case studies in air pollution, climate change, and China’s Belt & Road Initiative.