One of the trends I saw last summer was that your average Zhou was beginning to recognize that they had an opportunity to participate in the development in their society, and unlike before they were taking that opportunity. they were going for strolls in Xiamen, outing polluters online, and putting pressure on local officials who were not acting in their best interests.

It was a huge change that took the 3rd largest lake, a labor scandal, and a product scandal, but it happened.

I predicted then that we were at a turning point and companies would need to Clean Up or Close Up, and as I discussed in a post a couple week ago, the trend has continued. Where I see the biggest change, and where things are different than before, is that unlike the past where civil society was managed from Beijing pushing down onto the prvincies/ cities/ villages policies that would be ignored at the local level, and local officials would do so without any real fear.

Sure, there were the ever so often examples of bad cadres making the news, but in reality many never felt the heat. but that is all changing, and while there are certainly a number of things that have motivated the masses, there mediums of initial action is via internet and SMS, as the People’s Daily enterprises feel pressure from netizens in China suggests:

Enterprises in China - either Chinese or foreign-funded enterprises - have felt a magnitude of pressure from the massive number of Chinese netizens who urge them to shoulder more corporate social responsibilities (CSR).

Only strengthened by the recent emotional response that swept China in response to the earthquake relief, we are process by which not only are netizens and citizens more likely to express their opinions in a pubic forum, they are given a longer leash to do so, and once they do… they do so en masse. and when you have reports from Jones Lange LaSalle reporting statistics like:

A February Policy paper released by the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development stated that by 2005 84% of FIEs were involved in an industry is considered to be heavily polluting compared to 30% in 1995.

companies need to take more care when operating in China to make sure their labor codes and practices are in order, that environmental codes are observed, that a firm is not seen as exploiting China in any way, and that they are giving back to their local communities.