THE WOMEN'S MOVEMENT IN CHINA Wang China was about to host the largest international conference in world history,as the state,meanwhile,was taking the most severe security mea- sures seen in the reform era to keep Chinese people isolated from the outside world. To many Chinese women scholars and activists,the drastically changed political situation threatened to close up the social space for women's spontaneous activism that they had created in the past decade. To serve the best interest of their cause,they had to keep a low profile so as not to attract unwanted attention from the security system.Their strat- egy was to further "depoliticize"research on women by consciously keep- ing research on women away from politically sensitive issues,such as human rights,and engaging for the time being in some purely "nonpoliti- cal"projects.7 This strategy had its cost,as it meant that women partici- pants could not expect to have an open exchange with foreign women at the NGO Forum on all the issues.Instead,in this historic event they had to perform within the political boundary drawn by the government.In other words,they had to treat the NGO Forum like a showcase,as the government stipulated. Moving from the initial stage of empowerment in the period preceding the conference to this later stage of coping with repression,many women activists were filled with frustration,disappointment,anger,and sadness. It was heartbreaking for them to see that the state was able to straitjacket an international event that was meant to empower women and for which they had worked so hard.Nonetheless,no one was disheartened.When I met my friends at the NGO Forum,many said,"Just keep a low profile and wait for the paranoia to pass."They sounded like seasoned farmers who know very well how to deal with bad weather.In this kind of unfa- vorable political climate,one should just do some fixing and repair work, preparing for a warmer,more productive season. The political weather has always changed suddenly in China.Even be- fore the adjournment of the official conference,the Chinese government leaders'paranoia had already subsided.The NGO Forum ended without 7 When global feminists demanded loudly that women's rights be treated as human rights,Chinese women researchers were very cautious about this issue.They would rather deploy officially approved phrases such as "improving women's status"and "protect wom- en's rights and interests"than use the language of "human rights."For in the tremendous political tension around the human rights issue prior to the conference,an open identifica- tion with human rights could put one immediately in the official category of antigovern- ment political dissident.Keenly aware of their limited options in the repressive political at- mosphere prior to the conference,women in the women's federation of Shanxi Province began a huge project-a gigantic silk wall hanging embroidered by over a thousand women from Shanxi rural areas.The collective embroidery project was a way to inform ru- ral women of the approaching women's conference because the piece was to be displayed at the site of the NGO Forum.This masterpiece of women's art was sold after the confer- ence,and the money is to fund Shanxi rural women's development. Autumn 1996 SIGNS 197 This content downloaded from 91.229.229.96 on Sat,14 Jun 2014 12:14:47 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and ConditionsTHE WOMEN'S MOVEMENT IN CHINA Wang China was about to host the largest international conference in world history, as the state, meanwhile, was taking the most severe security mea￾sures seen in the reform era to keep Chinese people isolated from the outside world. To many Chinese women scholars and activists, the drastically changed political situation threatened to close up the social space for women's spontaneous activism that they had created in the past decade. To serve the best interest of their cause, they had to keep a low profile so as not to attract unwanted attention from the security system. Their strat￾egy was to further "depoliticize" research on women by consciously keep￾ing research on women away from politically sensitive issues, such as human rights, and engaging for the time being in some purely "nonpoliti￾cal" projects.7 This strategy had its cost, as it meant that women partici￾pants could not expect to have an open exchange with foreign women at the NGO Forum on all the issues. Instead, in this historic event they had to perform within the political boundary drawn by the government. In other words, they had to treat the NGO Forum like a showcase, as the government stipulated. Moving from the initial stage of empowerment in the period preceding the conference to this later stage of coping with repression, many women activists were filled with frustration, disappointment, anger, and sadness. It was heartbreaking for them to see that the state was able to straitjacket an international event that was meant to empower women and for which they had worked so hard. Nonetheless, no one was disheartened. When I met my friends at the NGO Forum, many said, "Just keep a low profile and wait for the paranoia to pass." They sounded like seasoned farmers who know very well how to deal with bad weather. In this kind of unfa￾vorable political climate, one should just do some fixing and repair work, preparing for a warmer, more productive season. The political weather has always changed suddenly in China. Even be￾fore the adjournment of the official conference, the Chinese government leaders' paranoia had already subsided. The NGO Forum ended without 7 When global feminists demanded loudly that women's rights be treated as human rights, Chinese women researchers were very cautious about this issue. They would rather deploy officially approved phrases such as "improving women's status" and "protect wom￾en's rights and interests" than use the language of "human rights." For in the tremendous political tension around the human rights issue prior to the conference, an open identifica￾tion with human rights could put one immediately in the official category of antigovern￾ment political dissident. Keenly aware of their limited options in the repressive political at￾mosphere prior to the conference, women in the women's federation of Shanxi Province began a huge project-a gigantic silk wall hanging embroidered by over a thousand women from Shanxi rural areas. The collective embroidery project was a way to inform ru￾ral women of the approaching women's conference because the piece was to be displayed at the site of the NGO Forum. This masterpiece of women's art was sold after the confer￾ence, and the money is to fund Shanxi rural women's development. Autumn 1996 SIGNS 197 This content downloaded from 91.229.229.96 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 12:14:47 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions