2.3　Issues and Questions to be Resolved in this St...

2.3　Issues and Questions to be Resolved in this Study

The underlying assumptions about the roles of mediation and the functions of mediation in general are significantly different between those used in contemporary Chinese and American cultures.Part of this problem stems from the application of western values and axioms onto Chinese methods for mediation.In order to address this problem, I intend to evaluate typical sociolinguistic features of Chinese mediations by using features from the western scholarly tradition, as well as taking into account specific socio-historic features of Chinese culture which have a profound effect on the context in which these mediations occur.This study will investigate the nature of community mediation in China.Of specific interest for the current work is the different ways that neutrality plays out in Chinese mediation.As has been argued, neutrality is not as important a feature of Chinese mediation as is the case for their western counterparts.This being the case, the role of mediator in Chinese culture may be quite different from that of the mediator in Chinese culture may be quite different from that of the mediator in American culture.The main questions which this book attempts to resolve are whether it is the difference in the understanding of neutrality or a difference in the understanding of neutrality or a difference in the understanding of the role of the mediator that is responsible for the difference in outcomes.Further, it is of great interest to identify ways in which these differences actually occur in mediation practices.

(a) How are neutrality and power distribution identified in Chinese mediation?(https://www.daowen.com)

(b) What are some typical strategies and major categories for the strategies to resolve conflict in contemporary Chinese mediation?

Based on the analysis of the data I have collected and analyzed, I also hope to draw conclusions about social and cultural indications about today’s China — what factors contribute to the uniqueness of contemporary Chinese mediation.