On the Building and Practice of a Social Support Network for the Urban Ethnic Minority Floating Population: A Case Study of “Ethnic Homes” in Guangzhou

Yu Xiang, Li Min

DOI：10.3969/j.issn.1674-9391.2023.3.010

Abstract：

Under the guidance of Party building work， the “Ethnic Homes” established in Guangzhou has carried out project cooperation with social organizations， providing professional and advanced services to grassroots governmental field organizations of ethnic work. It not only has strengthened services for and the management of the local urban ethnic minority floating population but also has created a diversified communication and integration platform for the government， all sectors of society， and the ethnic minority floating population itself. Under the leadership of local government， a social support network led by the government， supported by society， and joined by individuals has been gradually formed and started to play a role. Furthermore， occupying a central place in the building of the social support network， the ethnic minority floating population has been gradually eliminating its sense of strangeness and discomfort through the platform of “Ethnic Homes” and the support and help of social workers. They even have actively started to participate in community volunteer activities organized by the “Ethnic Homes”， and have been promoting exchange， interaction， and integration among all ethnic groups in social participation， contributing their strength to national unity.

However， based on the current social support provided by the government and all sectors of society to this group as well as the actual living conditions of the ethnic minority floating population after they have settled in the city， findings demonstrate there are still many difficulties in building the social support network for them. For instance， i） the work organization system of “Ethnic Homes” is not comprehensive enough; ii） some grassroots staff members need to pay more attention to ethnic work， and departments need to strengthen horizontal linkage; iii） government departments need to step up their formal social support provided to the ethnic minority floating residents; iv） social support provided by social organizations is intermittent and unsustainable; and v） some of the minority floating population need to enhance their capability of integrating into the urban context.

Considering the above， this paper proposes a potentially effective trajectory for the building of a social support network for an urban ethnic minority floating population： The concerted efforts of local governments， society， and ethnic minority floating populations should be actively promoted in order to form a strong joint force and improve the quality of social support. In other words， grassroots departments related to ethnic work should further consolidate organizational development and strengthen formal social support; moreover， all sectors of society need to integrate resources， expand social support both in type and scope， and enhance the sustainability of social support; finally， an ethnic minority floating population would need to take the initiative to improve their comprehensive competitive advantages and construct self-help- and mutual-assistance-activities. Only when the strengths of onsite governmental agencies， social organizations， individuals， and other parties are combined and given full play， can a satisfactory social support network for an urban ethnic minority floating population be woven. Through the effective building and successful practice of the social support networks for urban ethnic minority floating residents， a high-quality development of the Partys ethnic work in the new era can be realized， potentially providing a successful experience for forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation among urban ethnic minority floating populations.

Key Words：

ethnic minority floating population; social support network; “Ethnic Homes”