2025/04/22 by Zhiqiang Yan · 1 voice
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Historical Studies on Reproduction, Gender, Health, and Societal Changes #Chinese history and philosophy #Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis
paper · doi:10.1080/03086534.2025.2492358
Between 1923 and 1926, the representatives of the British and American Concessions in Shanghai (hereafter referred to as the Concessions) tried to resolve the child labour problem. In the context of continuous improvement of international labour protection rules and the direct promotion by various non-governmental organisations, public opinion on the child labour problem continued to intensify. The Child Labour Committee, led by the United Kingdom, was formally established in July 1923. It submitted an investigation report about the situation of the child labour problem at that time to the taxpayers’ meeting of the Concessions for voting to obtain the legal effect. However, the meeting was adjourned due to insufficient attendance. In addition, the Committee faced many other difficulties, such as the lack of a stable social environment for the resolution of the child labour problem, the increased poverty of the child labourers’ families after the dismissal, and the mutual shirking of responsibilities between different regions. The distorted situation formed by a raging tide of public discourse and the various difficulties in resolving the child labour problem showed the powerlessness and limitations of the Concessions in facing this widespread social problem. It also reflected the fragility of cultural capital in the face of power capital. Therefore, differences in governance positions affect the effectiveness of social governance in politically-and-economically complex regions, a fact crucial to understanding the difficult social governance situation faced by the Concessions.