tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1375677198071754693.post5673691572395131374..comments2023-08-17T04:52:41.012-07:00Comments on Chinese politics from the provinces: Local Discussions About China's Financial Challenges Deserve A ListenAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13371969246613017865noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1375677198071754693.post-20531584371517861022017-05-04T02:15:08.452-07:002017-05-04T02:15:08.452-07:00I agree that "system support" is one goo...I agree that "system support" is one good way to think about how politics operates here locally, especially getting people within the government system to support the course of public policy decided upon here, or in Beijing. Your comments have provided reasons to think how best to conceptualise these matters. <br /><br />Thanks for your interpretation, as well as for the very kind words. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13371969246613017865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1375677198071754693.post-51373968866346044222017-05-03T00:30:23.722-07:002017-05-03T00:30:23.722-07:00Thank you for your clarification.
I have to admi...Thank you for your clarification. <br /><br />I have to admit, while being able to read Chinese, I too belong to the category of "English-reading audience" that tries to find corresponding concepts in English while reading in Chinese (and Chinese political context). <br /><br />In the case of "legitimacy", I was thinking about officials shoring up system support rather than concerns about appearing (il)legitimate to the public. Hence in the article, the deputy head highlighted "广大群众的利益需求","群众对政府工作的满意度" and using the funds in "人民群众关心、关注的事情上". All very populist sounding soundbites that would not be out of place for any politician needing to win an election. <br /><br />I look forward to more great insights from you in the future.pHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02814430993852243933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1375677198071754693.post-20751630994448173902017-05-02T21:01:02.605-07:002017-05-02T21:01:02.605-07:00Many thanks for your comment. Your question is an ...Many thanks for your comment. Your question is an excellent one, I think, as it's challenging to find an appropriate translation with terms that in the Chinese political context are so different from how they would appear to an English-reading audience, and liable to misread. For example, when the latter group reads "legitimacy" [合法性], there's a tendency to think that Chinese officials are concerned about appearing illegitimate to the public--which isn't the case at all. Chinese political discourse is so specifically Chinese much of the time, as I'm sure you know.<br /><br />The reason for using "legitimacy and rationality" in this instance is to impart the sense that government officials themselves have conveyed when asked: that 合法性和合理性 means that there's a need to determine who shall be the competent authority to manage this issue, and to make sure that choices that are made are done in a consistent and 'scientific' manner. <br /><br />With that in mind, one could change the translation to "legal authority and objectivity". The problem I see is that makes the issue one of legality whereas I see officials here as viewing it more as administrative, in the sense that it's more of a matter of who gets to decide when the situation is new and regulations and directions lag.<br /><br />At the same time, these types of translation issues are open questions, often without clear answers. <br /><br />Thanks again for your input and suggestions; both are much appreciated. Please feel free to follow up with this issue with this post and others where there may be differences of view and interpretation (in all senses). Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13371969246613017865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1375677198071754693.post-69212041589486788122017-05-02T19:40:51.652-07:002017-05-02T19:40:51.652-07:00About the translation of "legitimacy and rati...About the translation of "legitimacy and rationality [合法性和合理性]" above, I'm wondering if you could please elaborate more about the choice of translated words. Sometimes I see "合法性" used in situations that seemed more suitable to be translated into "legality" and "合理性" used in situations that suggest legitimacy. I understand that there are some confusion in the use of "合法性" with some using it to mean legality and others meaning legitimacy. <br /><br />In this situation whereby the deputy head used the two terms "合法性和合理性", would it be more relevant/suitable to translate as "improve the legality and legitimacy"? <br /><br /><br /><br />pHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02814430993852243933noreply@blogger.com