Danwei

A work unit or danwei is the name given to a place of employment in the People's Republic of China. The term danwei remains in use today, as people still use it to refer to their workplace. Prior to Deng Xiaoping's reform and opening up, a work unit acted as the first step of a multi-tiered hierarchy linking each individual with the Chinese Communist Party infrastructure. Work units were the principal method of implementing party policy. The work unit provided lifetime employment and extensive socioeconomic welfare—"a significant feature of socialism and a historic right won through the Chinese Revolution."

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