Topic: How do social protests emerge in China and what are their implications on the autocratic rule of the Chinese Communist Party? 1. Introduction Social protest has been increasingly prevalent in China since the early 1980s despite the restrictions on the freedom of speech and association. Groups of Chinese citizens, from unsophisticated villagers to state-owned enterprise workers and students, have been staging protests across the country to air their grievances and seek redress. The routinization of social protests has attracted international media coverage as China has a storied history of mass movements. This essay attempts to discuss the trend and the underlying causes of social protests in China. Furthermore, examples of recent protests would be analysed to illustrate the implication of the upsurge in social protests in China. 2. Definition of social protest “Social protest is one form of social movement” (Tong & Lei, 2014). It can be defined as a form of political expression that seeks to bring about social or political change by influencing the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of the public or the policies of an organization or institution (Mcleod, 2011). It may take various forms, be it in covert or overt manner, for instance, demonstrations, civil disobedience and lobbying. Social protest provides the avenue for political participation and expression, and stirs up social changes and the democratization of some authoritarian regimes, especially in places with strong and vibrant civil society. Many of the protests that take place in the contemporary world tend to challenge the existing political regime or mainstream institutions in the pursuit of collective interests and fundamental human rights. ... ... middle of paper ... ...books?id=EQEVAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA19&lpg=PA19&dq=constructive+social+protest+factors&source=bl&ots=UCqzeWNQJl&sig=5gmojXw4eM_MAciFti2FexfeSJ0&hl=en&sa=X&ei=1eZIU7nNDuKn0QXQ_4GoCw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=constructive%20social%20protest%20factors146&f=false Wines,M. (2009). Civic-Minded Chinese Find a Voice Online. The New York Times, Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/17/world/asia/17china.html?hp&_r=0 Wright, T. (2013). Protest as participation: China's local protest movements. World Politics Review. Retrieved from http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/12877/protest-as-participation-chinas-local-protest-movements Qin , S. (2008). Bridge Under Water: The Dilemma of the Chinese Petition System. China Research Center China Currents, 7(1), Retrieved from http://www.chinacenter.net/bridge-under-water-the-dilemma-of-the-chinese-petition-system/
For several decades, since the death of Mao Zedong, dissidence among the public has increased against the single-party system of Mao’s Chinese Communist Party, or CCP. The CCP, which Mao co-founded, has ruled China since 1949 with little or no opposition party. The ruling party has long crushed dissent since its founding. Three authors have looked into the dissidence. The first is Merle Goldman in her analytical essay of the intellectual class in China entitled “China’s Beleaguered Intellectuals” (2009). In this essay, Goldman focuses on the intellectuals’ struggle for political and intellectual freedom from the CCP. Goldman’s view for the future of China is one containing more political freedoms. On the other hand, Andrew G. Walder’s critical essay “Unruly Stability: Why China’s Regime Has Staying Power,” (2009) refutes Goldman’s claim that China’s intellectuals have the ability to change domestic policy. He argues that, while political dissent has become more commonplace, the CCP and authoritarian control is here to stay. The third author, Philip P. Pan and his novel Out of Mao’s Shadow: The Struggle for the Soul of a New China (2008) has a more neutral tone and shows both the side of the intellectuals and the CCP. This paper will use Pan’s book in order to determine which view, either Goldman’s or Walder’s, is correct.
York, Geoffrey. 2007. “Text-messages: the new Chinese protest tool.” Globe and Mail, Friday, June 1: A13.
Throughout history, discontent has been felt by various groups of people. This discontent could be generated by modernization or undesirable conditions. As a result, social movements are put into effect to bring similar peoples together to fight for a common cause. Traditional Chinese foot binding and the controversial Lost Boys of Sudan demonstrate this exact situation, reinforcing the idea that the concept of the social movement can be considered a cross-cultural phenomenon.
Everyday people in China are suffering from their government. From being wrongly accused to being executed for petty crimes. In a country where you cannot speak your opinions, talk poorly about government officials, speak about Chinese communist failures, or even browse the internet freely. China has kept its citizens in the void. One example is the great firewall of china, which sensors most social media and other sites. This essay will go into some individual stories of the Chinese government's unfair social injustices towards its people.
“Barriers were built around most of the protest sites; in Beijing, subway service was reportedly cut in the student dominated area of the city to prevent anyone from traveling to the location at all.” (Swartz 2)
Around the world many people wonder why people choose to protest topics they disagree with. Protesting can change political views, help society, stop government actions, and most importantly save lives. Protests are normally started by a person or people wanting to make a change and stand up for what they believe in. People have been protesting for years because it is effective.
This series of protesting is called the Tibetan Independent Movement. They would do this in ways such as flying Tibetan flags in place of Chinese flags. This had very minimal effect but led to the Chinese Government cutting off essential supplies to the Tibetans to the point of riot and revolt. The Chinese Government accused the exiled Dalai Lama of organizing these riots as a part of a separatist plot.
... to keep their opinions to themselves. It would take years for them to find their voice again. Not, only did this movement silence millions, but it was also the moment for many Chinese, when the cracks in the party started to show. The man who had been revered as a god, had made a mistake, and people started to question themselves and their beliefs.
The CCP can no longer keep such a tight grasp on society. The regime claims people who protest against them are mentally ill and depending on what the protesters status is can make false accusations and false charges stick. Those who support the CCP publicly with their work are also protested against. It can be assumed that politics is one key issue that divides China.
In America, protest has been used throughout history as a vehicle to change. Protests bring attention to issues that would or could be overlooked or ignored. A current protest receiving national attention in our media is the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) protest. The Occupy Wall Street protest, along with other Occupy branch protests are essentially ineffective protests. When compared to successful protests in the past, they are not having as much success gaining public support. There are many reasons this could be the case. There is no clearly defined goal or a specified outcome resulting from the protests. They are managing their funds inefficiently and in many cities they are creating more problems than they are solving.
The spread of Communism and its ideals significantly increased during the final stages of the Chinese Civil War which intensified after the Second World War and resulted in a victory to the Communists in October 1949. At this time, the majority of the provinces in China were led by either the GMD or the CCP. However, the civilians in the GMD-ruled cities were suffering rapid inflation, strikes, violence and riots which led to a collapse of public order. Adding to this instability, corruption was rife within the Nationalist party’s lead...
The concept of activism is rarely understood by any “normal” citizen. The donation of one’s time towards a certain cause or belief has always been envied by the working class citizen who feels it is important to give back, but is pushed away when those good intentions go bad such as when “non-violent” protests or speeches turn reckless. With an intuition of activists having to be heard through harsh acts, for example the demolition of bridges, billboards or aqueducts, their cause is usually overlooked; their actions are looked down upon as people with internal rage. We must ask ourselves if they are using activism as an excuse to vent out their personal anger. Rather than activists causes being the center of the attention they receive, the ill-mannered way they go about trying to solve problems have become the subjects focus.
Xiaobo, L., (2011), ‘Two Essays on China’s Quest for Democracy’ Journal of Democracy, 22(1): 154-166.
Even though almost all literature can be called protest literature in a sense that they all portray a point of theme or view, protest literature has to be specifically written for change. In other words, the writer needs to have specific goals for change in society or individuals from the very start. Therefore, the effects of protest literature cannot simply be spontaneous or by accident. Furthermore, protest literature cannot be judged by how effective it is. This shows that protest literature fails to persuade or "convert" even one individual, the literature is still consider a success because a point has been made which results in acknowledgement...
Lieberthal, Kenneth (2003). Governing China: From Revolution to Reform. New York City: W.W.Norton and Company