EACS-2016. Book of Abstracts

21st Biennial Conference of the European Association for Chinese Studies 178 Bislev Ane Katrine (Aalborg University) Open Sesame — China’s Social Credit System Key words: credit, trust, social control, internet culture The idea of creating a model citizen through positive reinforcement is not new to China. In rural China, model households complying with guidelines for economic activities, family planning etc. have been rewarded with small plaques with up to ten gold stars, while for instance universities have billboards advertising out- standing teachers. However, the proposed new social credit system seems to take the idea one step further in combining a credit rating based on many aspects of life e.g. online activity and consumer behavior with concrete real-life benefits like easier access to credit or overseas visas. Currently, there are several pilot versions of online social credit systems being tested on a voluntary basis before the proposed nation-wide implementation in 2020. This paper will discuss Alibaba’s Sesame Credit score in the context of previous social control systems in China as well as other methods for assessing credit worthiness and examine both how the system is marketed to its potential users and how it has been received online. Boermel Anna (King's College London) Of Salty Strawberries and Insect Bites: Coping with Food Safety Scares in Urban China Key words: urban China, anthropology, food safety Concern about and knowledge of the role toxins, pollutants and germs play in food production and dis- tribution has been growing steadily in urban Chinese society over the last decade. Drawing on longitudinal anthropological fieldwork conducted in Beijing since 2003, this paper shows that urban Chinese have developed a wide range of protective strategies to minimise their exposure to unsafe food. I argue that the adaptation of older hygiene methods and the creation of new consumption practices enable residents to re-assert a measure of control over their physical well-being, and enhance certainty and trust at a time of rapid socio-economic change. Class, age and gender have played important roles in the development of these protective strategies. Frustrated by the scarcity of reliable information and increasingly sceptical of corporate claims and official reassurances, they have sourced information about food production and product quality from their (extended) personal networks and social media. This self-education has led to an increased interest in the origin of food, more self-reliance in the realm of food production and the creation of new links between producers and con- sumers. Many urban Chinese have become more selective in their choice of food and either avoid certain food groups altogether, use multiple senses to discern safe from unsafe produce, or treat food at home in numerous ways before consuming it. While these strategies are used by many urban residents, resignation and indiffer- ence are equally important ways of coping with the incessant flow of news about food safety problems. Chelnokova-Siejka Anna (Beijing Normal University, Moscow State Linguistic University) Chinese Youth Cultures and Consumer Values in Modern China Key words: consumer values, youth culture, thrift, mainstream culture, official culture Since the Economic reform, the Chinese government has put at the centre economic development of the country and has made a turn from a uni-polar to a multi-polar system of values. Thrift and economy have