Care or control: an analysis of Chinese welfare provision for the street children
Fucai Cheng
Department of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong
Contact Email:   yihanghkusua.hku.hk

From the 1980s, China has seen an increasing number of children roaming on the streets. This article discusses the development of Chinese policy regarding the street children. By using related policy documents and street children research sources as vehicles, the author analyzes and evaluates the policy. It highlights the paternalistic and the authoritarian control-directed nature of the current welfare-policy, which ignores the street children’s personal perception and preference, and over-emphasizes the importance of maintaining social order instead of the street children’s individual needs. The connection between Chinese traditional culture Confucianism and the socialist ideology and the formulation and implementation of the policy is disclosed. The article argues that the current control-directed social policy of street children should be gradually replaced with a preventive and outreaching approach. More works should be invested to prevent children-at-risk from migrating into the public streets, and to help those children who already live in the streets to get necessary provision and protection.

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