中国推行网格化管理 China reverts to grid management to monitor citizens’ lives

China is rolling out a nationwide system of social control known as “grid management” in a revival of state presence in residential life that had receded as society liberalised during recent decades.

随着近几十年中国社会的开放，国家的身影原本已渐渐淡出居民生活。现在中国正在推行一个叫做“网格化管理”的全国性社会管控体系，让国家的身影重新出现在居民生活中。

From smog-blanketed towns on the North China Plain to the politically sensitive Tibetan capital of Lhasa, small police booths and networks of citizens have been set up block by block to reduce neighbourhood disputes, enforce sanitation, reduce crime — and keep an eye on anyone deemed a troublemaker.

从华北平原雾霾笼罩的城镇，到具有政治敏感性的西藏首府拉萨，小型警务站和居民网络在一个又一个街区建立起来，目的是减少邻里纠纷、实施卫生管理、减少犯罪，以及监控任何被视为麻烦制造者的人。

The rollout coincides with a broader tightening of state control over civil society and crackdown on dissent under President Xi Jinping.

网格化管理体系的推出，适逢国家在更大范围内收紧对公民社会的管控和对异见的压制。

“The grid management system is an attempt by the authorities to re-establish its control over individuals,” said Li Dun, an expert in public management at Tsinghua University in Beijing. “The aim is to reinstate the idea of upholding the party’s leadership.”

“网格化管理体系是当局重新确立对个人的控制的一次尝试，”清华大学公共管理问题专家李楯表示，“其目的是重新树立‘坚持党的领导’的理念。”

An earlier system of neighbourhood committees, which monitored every urban citizen, has declined since the mid-1990s as private housing became more common and social controls faded. “Grid management” also harks back to the baojia system of the ancient Chinese dynasties, when groups of neighbours were responsible for mutually enforcing proper behaviour.

自上世纪90年代中期以来，随着私有住房变得更为普遍、社会管控消减，曾经监控每一个城镇居民的居委会体系日渐式微。“网格化管理”还让人想起中国古代王朝的“保甲”制度，该制度把若干户编成一组，让同一组的居民相互督促，确保每个人的行为举止符合规范。