During the Maoist era the "unit" (danwei) became the key vehicle for the interaction of the state and society. For most Chinese, the unit refers to the place of work-factory, research institute, ministry, and so forth. While agriculture was communized, the peasant's unit was the commune. Units in the state and collective sectors are the lowest level of the political system, not wholly independent organizations. During the famine of the early 1960s, the PRC completed the development of the danwei as a major vehicle for controlling citizens' behavior and channeling their efforts. At that time, Virtually every citizen belonged to a unit. Many retired urbanites continued to be included in their former place of work; for other the neighborhood Residents Committee became their "unit" for purposes of state access to them.
the key vehicle