The Social Economy Sector in China: A Case of Farmers' Specialized Technology Association (FSTA) in Yuanshi County Hebei Province/Le Secteur de L'economie Sociale en Chine: Le Cas de L'association de Technologie Specialisee des Paysans Dans la Region Yuanshi de la Province Du Hebei (Report‪)‬

1. THE ORGANIZATIONAL FRAMEWORK OF FSTA IN YUANSHI COUNTY Beginning in the 1980s, China has witnessed two principal processes of political change. First, and top-down, was liberalization, in which so-called 'soft liner' element of the Party elite began to extend legal rights, including some guarantees, to individuals. They carried out economic reforms that devolved central controls to a limited degree and scope. Second, and bottom-up, embryonic autonomous organizations arose independently at the grassroots levels.