ThePracticeofActivationinChina1.IntroductionIntheearly1990s,mostwesterncountrieswereplungedintorecessionsandexperiencedgreatchangesinsocialstructures,whichbroughtthepressurestowelfarestatesinEurope.TheproblemsofhighunemploymenthadbeenincreasinglyprominentandspreadingthroughouttheEurope.Undernewchallenges,manygovernmentsrealizedthattherewasaneedtoacttogetheratEUlevelandtofindsolutionsthroughcloserandlongercooperation.OnthebasisofthenewprovisionsoftheAmsterdamTreatyandlaunchedattheLuxembourgJobSummit,theEuropeanEmploymentStrategy(EES)cameoutanddevelopedsuccessfully(Wikipedia).ItwasasignificantshiftfrompassivepoliciestoactivemeasuresandcontributedtosolveproblemsconcerninglabourmarketinEurope.China,ontheothersideoftheworld,wasalsoconfrontedwithprofoundchangesinsocialandeconomicsystemsin1990s.Duringthecourseoftransformation,theproblemsofunemploymentemergedandthenrapidlybecomeunprecedentedpressuretothesociety.Asaconsequence,thegovernmentattemptedtoadoptactivewaystoimprovethelabour-marketpolicies.Althoughthegreatdifferencesinpolitics,economicsandculturesbetweenChinaandEU,thereweresimilaritiessharedbytheminincentivesofpolicyreformsthatwastomeettheneedofchanginginternalandexternalenvironments.ThispaperwillfirstdiscussthebackgroundoftheemploymentpolicyreforminChina,andthenusetheframeworkofactivationtoreflectontheEESandfurtheranalyzetheactivationpoliciesinChinatoseehowthepoliciescomforttotheactivation.---本文于网络，仅供参考，勿照抄，如有侵权请联系删除---1.1ActivationpoliciesinEuropeEmploymentisafundamentalsourceofempowermentandequality,andtopreventunemploymenthasalwaysbeenaprioritygoalofthelabourmovement.Somepeopleclaimedthatunemploymentinevitablyentailspowerlessness,lossofautonomyandsocialmarginalization,regardlessofeconomiccompensation.Someitisevenclaimedthatgenerouswelfarearrangementsmakethingsworse.Firstly,labour-marketeconomisthavearguedthatgeneroussocialprotectionandlabour-marketregulationgivetheunemployedtoolittleincentivetoworkandkeeps"reservationwages"atalevelwherethemarketcannotprovidedasufficientnumberofjobsforthelessskilled.Asaconsequence,manylessskilledpeoplebecomeentrappedinlong-termunemployment.Secondly,unemploymentmayleadtowelfaredependencywhichturnscitizensintodemandingclientssome(Gouletal.P77-78).Fromtheviewpointofactivecitizenship,acitizenisexpectedtobeautonomousandself-responsible,aswellasflexibleandextremelymobile.Activecitizensareexpectedtobeabletocreatetheirbiographyindividuallyandadaptitcontinuouslytochangingexternalconditions(Gouletal.P7).Thoseunemployedwhoaredisadvantagedandmarginalizedaresupposedtobeactivatedsothattheycanobtaintheabilitytoexploitopportunitiesandcontroltheirownlives.Thecallforactivationpolicyfirstandforemostimpliesadirectlinkagebetweendifferentkindsofsocialprotectionsystemsandlabour-marketparticipation.Thereisnolongeracleardistinctionbetweendifferentlabour-marketpolicyandsocialpolicy,sincethesocietyaimsatmakingallcitizensactiveregardlesswhatkindofincometransferpaymentstheyreceive.Inthatsense,socialpolicyismuchmore---本文于网络，仅供参考，勿照抄，如有侵权请联系删除---labour-marketorientedthanbefore(Gouletal.P136).Activationreferstojobtraining(intheformofasubsidizedtemporaryjob)oreducation,withthestronglyemphasizedaimofbringingpeoplebacktoemployment(Gouletal.vii).InfluencedbyrecommendationsfromOECDandEur...