AP COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

The People’s Republic of China

“Let China sleep; when she wakes,
she will shake the world.”
– NAPOLEON BONAPARTE
Why Study China?
• Unique history greatly shapes political culture

• One of the few remaining communist nations

• Successful move towards capitalism BUT remains

highly authoritarian
• Questions to ponder…

•Will democratization follow economic reform

success?
•Will human rights violations threaten
partnerships?
•Will Xi bring major political changes?
•How will the world react to China’s rise?
Geography
• Officially, the People’s Republic of China (PRC)
• Roughly equal to U.S. in area, BUT China’s
population is more than 4x greater.
Concentrated on east coast.
• 4th largest country- 9,596,961 sq mi
• Less than 15% of land good for agriculture
• Largest population- 1.3 billion
• Major Cities:
• Shanghai 16.575 million
• Beijing 12.214 million
• Chongqing 9.401 million China’s Geography Problem Video:

• Shenzhen 9.005 million https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiBF6v5UAAE

Geographic Divisions
• 23 provinces*
• 5 autonomous regions- A territorial unit that is equivalent to a
province and contains a large concentration of ethnic minorities
• Ex: Xinjiang and Tibet
• 4 centrally administered cities
• 2 Special Administrative Regions (SAR)
• Hong Kong & Macau (muh-cow) are ruled indirectly by China
*Taiwan (Disputed)- More later on this
• Location of the exiled government (Republic of China) beginning
in the late 1940s China considers Taiwan a province, Taiwan
considers itself independent
• International recognition is mixed - The United States has
deliberately avoided the issue of defining China’s borders
 Confucianism
• Confucius lived during the Warring States Period
• Confucianism adopted by the Han Dynasty
• Emphasis on Harmony, order, and peace through
relationships in society.
• Emphasis on obedience to Authority, Hierarchy,
Meritocracy
• The first Chinese civil service was created to help
the Emperor run the empire.
• Based on taking tests and meritocracy rather than
family origins or existing wealth/power of your
family.
• Had to pass exams based on Confucian ethics
• One Famous Book by Confucius: The Analects
 Discussion: What elements of
Confucianism do you think can be
found in modern Chinese political
culture?
The Republic of China
• 1839 -1949:  Century of Humiliation

• Economic stagnation/poverty
• Increased pressure from the outside/imperialism
• Dynastic rule ends
• Nationalism rises!
• Loses Hong Kong to GB after Opium Wars (in 1841) – Returned
to China in 1997
• Revolution! (1911-12) Establishes Republic of China

• •Sun Yat-sen was American educated

• Believed in nationalism, democracy, & social welfare
• Could not hold power
• Regional warlords challenged the govt – time of political chaos Sun Yat-sen Father of the Republic
—
Period of the Republic (1911 – 1949)
• China is about 80% rural at this time
• Two political forces vie for power:
• The Nationalist Party (KMT)
• Led by Sun Yat-Sen
• Focused on resisting foreign influence
• Favored modernization and reform
• Eventually led by Chiang Kai-Shek in 1928
• Chinese Communist Party (CCP, founded 1921)
• Led by Mao Zedong
• By 1928, the CCP was forced West out of the cities and into
the countryside Changhi Shek
Long March
• Chiang chased Mao into countryside to try to
destroy him, but Mao and supporters flee from
Nationalist forces and gain support in the
countryside
• Mao becomes a hero to peasant class
• Very important because this event lays the
ideological foundation for Maoism and the
CCP. 
• Relationships developed between families at
this time will continue to be important in terms
of the Communist Party leadership (example of
guanxi- informal politics)
Founding
• 1941-1945:  World War II
• Communists more successful against Japan
• Nationalists weakened because their political
support was found in cities, but severely
damaged by the war.
• 1949: The People’s Liberation Army marches into
Beijing unopposed, establishing the People’s
Republic of China (PRC)
• The Nationalists fled to Taiwan, where
they established the Republic of China (ROC)
• International community does not recognize PRC
until 1970s!
 A revolution is not a dinner party, or
writing an essay, or painting a
picture, or doing embroidery; it
cannot be so refined, so leisurely and
gentle, so temperate, kind,
courteous, restrained and
magnanimous. A revolution is an
insurrection, an act of violence by
which one class overthrows another.
MAO ZEDONG
Maoism
• Maoism – form of communism that believed in the strength of the peasant
• Key Values:
• Collectivism: loyalty to party and state rather than family or village
• Struggle and Activism: for the people (sacrifice) rather than maintain
harmony by accepting status quo
• Egalitarianism and populism rather than hierarchy with women and
peasant at the bottom (CCP’s existence contradicts this)
• Wanted to create more equal roles for men and women
• Mao was committed to women’s equality b/c “women hold up half of
the heaven”
• Self-Reliance: people in charge of their destiny; isolate from abroad
Maoism
• Other Key Aspects of Maoism:
• Mass Line: leaders would communicate their
will/direction to people, but people would
communicate through mass line their wisdoms
to leaders
• Iron Rice Bowl
• Under Mao, guarantee of lifetime
employment, income and basic cradle-to-
grave benefits to most urban and rural
workers
• Workplace also provided housing, health
care, day care, and other services
 Using the Soviet Union Model (1949-1957)
• The USSR poured money and expertise into the PRC
• With this help Mao and the Chinese Communist Party work
on land reform, civil reform, 5 year plans
• Land Reform
• Redistributed property from rich to poor and increased
productivity in countryside
• Civil Reform
• Free people from Opium addiction
• Enhanced women’s legal rights
• Five-Year Plans
• Nationalized industry
• Collectivized agriculture
• Private property eliminated
—Compare how the Communist
Party came to power in China
with how it came to power in
Russia – how was it different?
—How was Maoism similar to
Marxist-Leninism in the Soviet
Union?  Different?
Similarities and Difference
China: Communists won popular support by defeating Japan in WWII and then defeating the
Nationalists in a civil war.  Then they established a communist state, the PRC, which replaced
the republic of 1911
Russia:  Bolsheviks led a communist revolution (really more like a coup d’etat) & overthrew the
czar

Similar: Democratic Centralism (Communist Party best directs needs of the masses);
collectivization; nationalized industry
Different: Mao valued strength of peasant, instituted mass line. Lenin focuses on the value of
the workers.
Hundred Flowers Campaign
• Intellectuals given freedom of expression

• Mao became worried about revolutionaries

• Policies changed and he crushed those that

spoke out
The Great Leap Forward (1958-1966)
• Wanted to free China from Soviet domination
• Utopian effort to transform China into a radical egalitarian society
• Reorganizes China into communes that would serve all basic social
and economic functions
• Backyard furnaces- people trying to make steel in countryside
• Mass Mobilization
• Red vs. Expert-emphasis on party workers – not bureaucrats running
govt.  Cadres – party workers at lowest levels were expected to
demonstrate party devotion by encouraging people to work hard
• •Decentralization – people can do it!
• Failure - Famine resulted of this program and other factors range
between 18 mil. and 45 million
Steel Production
Agriculture and Famine
When Sparrows Fall: China's Great Famine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojOmUWLDG18
Cultural Revolution (1966-1976)
• Goal – remove all vestiges of “old” China and its
inequality
• Scholars sent to fields to work
• Universities/libraries destroyed
• Confucian and Buddhist temples destroyed
• Emphasis on elementary education only
• ▶Student radicals (Red Guard) lead a purging of “class
enemies”
• Everything attributed to Mao

• What Was China's Cultural Revolution and Why Was It

So Violent?- https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=7G0UXnXpABw
Cultural Revolution
Mao’s Death
• 1976: Mao dies leaving followers divided into
factions
• Radicals – led by Mao’s wife
• One of the “Gang of Four” who supported
radical goals of cultural revolution
• Military
• Moderates – moderates who emphasized
economic modernization and some contact with
other countries
• Moderates win and arrest Gang of Four
• Review: Crash Course World History – China’s
Revolutions
 "It doesn't matter whether a cat is
black or white; if it catches mice, it is
a good cat."
-DENG XIAOPING
Deng Xiaoping Takes Control (1979)
• Deng as “purged” twice by Mao (reinstated and
purged) and brought back by moderate leaders
Open Door Trade policy
• Trade with everyone, including capitalist nations like
the U.S. to boost China’s economy
• Reforms in Education- Higher academic standards,
expansion of higher education and research (reversal
of Cultural Rev)
• Restored legal system/bureaucracy of Old China
• Four Modernizations
• New Social Contract: In exchange for accepting the
CCP’s monopoly on political power citizens may
pursue economic prosperity.
Four Modernizations
• Four Modernizations
• Agriculture
• Industry
• Science
• Military
Socialist Market Economy
HOUSEHOLD RESPONSIBILITY SYSTEM

• (early 1980s) Village owns farmland, but it is contracted out by the local govt to individual families
• Replaced communes
• After paying taxes/contract fees to govt, families may consume/sell what they produce

MORE ECONOMIC LIBERALIZATION

• Special Economic Zones (SEZs)

• Regions in which foreign investors were given preferential tax rates and other incentives
• Township and Village Enterprises (TVEs)
• Market-oriented public enterprises under the purview of local governments  (iron, steel, cement,
chemical fertilizer, hydroelectric power, and farm tools) thrived from 1978 to 1996 ; ownership rights”
stayed with the collective, while “use rights” were delegated to managers
Successes and Failures
ECONOMIC SUCCESS:

• Fastest-growing major economy in the world for more

than two decades
• GDP per capita grew at avg rate of a little over 9% per
year from 1990-2009. (US grew at ~1.5% over same
amount of time)

ECONOMIC PROBLEMS:

• No more “iron rice bowl” – cradle to grave benefits

• Unemployment
• Inequality
• Floating Population – urban migration & issues with
hukou (household registration)
Floating Population
• Peasants migrate to urban areas to find work
• Approx 150 million people
• Migrant workers are mostly employed in low-paying jobs, but fill an important niche in
China’s changing labor market, esp in construction
• Hukou – late 1950s, system that registers each citizen as entitled to work and to live in a
specific urban or rural location
• But this contributed to increasing inequality btw rural and urban bc limited farmers ability
to go to cities
• Authorities allowed recent migration b/c their labor was crucial to economic expansion
BUT they have no rights in urban areas (education, for children health care, can be
evicted by govt)
Tiananmen Square Massacre (1989)
• China embraced market reforms, gradually
moving away from a command economy, but
did NOT embrace political or democratic
reform
• 1989:  Tiananmen Square protests
• Large scale demonstrations, esp among
students and intellectuals for more political
freedoms
• Used army to crackdown protests
• Death toll not revealed
• The Tankman
Rise of the Technocrats
• After Deng dies, rise of technocrats
• Career-minded bureaucrats who administer
public policy according to technical rather than a
political rationale
• Professional competence & political loyalty
• Key Leaders:
• Jiang Zemin (1993-2003)
• Hu Jintao (2003-2013)
• Xi Jinping (2013 - ?) 
• All had university training in engineering and
“groomed” by top leaders to move up in ranks
Chinese Political Institutions
Overview
• Legislative Executive system: Communist • Unitary or Federal division of power:
Party Authoritarian Regime (Single Party Unitary
State)
• Main Geographic Subunits: Province
• Head of State: President
• Electoral System of Lower House: Not
• Head of Government: Premier applicable
• Legislature: Unicameral National People’s • Chief Judicial Body: Supreme People’s
Congress (Nominal Authority only) Court (Nominal Authority Only)
Constitution
THE FUNDAMENTAL LAW OF THE STATE

• Vests formal authority in both party and state executive and

legislative offices. Under authoritarian rule, political power is not
highly institutionalized.
• Political leaders have sought to make more formal rules for policy-
making and succession
• Have succeeded in imposing term limits and age limits for
appointments at all levels (except President)
• Post-Mao China largely still vesting in a “single paramount
leader” surrounded by 25-35 key advisors
• Western notion of rule of law has not prevailed in China. Better
to say China is rule by law. The Communist Party is above all!
• However growing complexity of social, economic, and political
life in China is forcing more reliance on legal statutes.
Organizational Parallelism
• The political structure of the People’s
Republic of China can best be seen as 3
parallel hierarchies:
• The Communist Party (Ideological
Overseer)
• The State (or Government)
• The People’s Liberation Army (PLA)
• Each are separate but interact
• The CCP dominates the other two branches
 Three Political Structures
Military Communist Party The State/Government
General Secretary
Standing Committee President/ VP Premier (PM)
Central Military
of Politburo
Commission
Politburo State Council

Ministry of State Central Committee Central Govt

Security Ministries, Bureaus
Ministry of Public
Security, People’s National Party National People’s
Armed Congress
Police
Congress

Provincial Party Provincial People’s

Congresses/Committees Congresses

Local Level Party Local Level

Organizations People’s Congresses

Primary Party
Organizations Village Councils
 Parallel Organization in China

Corresponding Government Office/Organ and Officeholder/

Party Office or Organ/ Officeholder or Number of Officials
Number of Officials

Chairman Abolished in 1982 President (Head of State) Xi Jinping

General Secretary Xi Jinping Premier (Head of Gov’t) Li Keqiang

Politburo Standing State Council Standing
7 Members 10 Members
Committee Committee

Politburo 25 Members State Council 35 Members

National People’s Congress

Central Committee 205 Members 175 Members
Standing Committee

National Party Congress 2270 Members National People’s Congress 2980 Members

Central Military Commission Central Military Commission

11 Members Same as CMC (Party)
of the CCP(CMC) of the PRC (CMC)

Chairman of CMC Xi Jinping Chairman of CMC Xi Jinping

Party Departments Approx. 25 Bureaucratic Ministries Approx 25

Democratic Centralism
• Society is best led by an elite vanguard party
with a superior understanding of the Chinese
people and their needs
• Derived from Lenin in the USSR
• Hierarchical structure
• Village/township
• County
• Province
• Nation
• Head of the party is the General Secretary
The Party- National Party Congress
• Essential function is to approve
decisions already made by the top
leaders and to provide a showcase
for the party’s current policies
• Does not serve as a “check” on
party’s executive
• More than 2000 delegates
• Meets every 5 years
• Rubber-stamps decisions made by
party leaders
• Elects members of Central
Committee
The Party- Central Committee
• About 340 members

• Elected for 5 year term by National Party

Congress
• Secret ballot/candidates limited
• Meets annually (plenums) for about a week

• Carries out business of National Party

Congress between its sessions
• Acts as a grooming mechanism for future
leaders
The Party- Politburo
• Top leaders work/live in a huge, walled, heavily-guarded
compound on lakes in the center of Beijing – not
identified on public maps.
• Politburo (Political Bureau)

• Formally elected by the Central Committee from

among its own members under carefully controlled and
secretive conditions
• Dictates government policies and oversees State
Council
• Meets in secret
• About 25 members
Standing Committee of the Poliburo and General Secretary

• Standing Committee of the Politburo

• Most powerful political organization in China!
• Elite of the elite (7 members), chosen by
Politburo
• Membership is mirror of faction influence
• General Secretary is chosen from the
Standing Committee
• Head of the CCP
• Recent Secretaries have been educated
(technocrats)
Guanxi
• Chinese term that means “connections” or
“relationships”
• Like “good old boys networks” in the West
• Based on ideological differences/similarities –
source of factions within the party
• Describes personal ties between individuals
based on such things as common birthplace or
mutual acquaintances
• Key to getting things done (cut red tape), but
can feed corruption
• Also pervasive at local level, where ordinary
people link up with village leaders and lower
party officials
Factions
• Conservatives – wants to preserve power of the party and central govt
• Reformers- supports major capitalist infusion in PRC’s economy and open door trade policy (pushed
for membership in WTO and courted US to grant “most-favored trading status” to China)
• Liberals-(been out of power since 1989) – more accepting of political liberties/dem movements. 
Support economic and political reform
• Princelings- many new leaders come from this class – aristocracy of families with revolutionary
credentials from days of Mao. Use their political connections and western education to build
lucrative business careers (Xi Jinping)
• Shanghai Gang–  associates of former leader Jiang Zemin - emphasis on Guanxi
• Chinese Communist Youth League (Hu Jintao)
• 5/7 of Standing Committee from Shanghai Gang, 2 Princelings
• Factions have sort of dissolved during Xi Jinping’s time in control
 The State/Government
The State President/ VP Premier (PM)

State Council
• Three branches BUT all branches
controlled by party Central Govt
Ministries, Bureaus
• Not independent
• No checks/balances National People’s
Congress

Provincial People’s
Congresses

Local Level
People’s Congresses

Village Councils
Executive
• Head of State- President
• Serve 5 year terms, Constitutional change in
2016 to unlimited terms from 2 terms Prem. Li Keqiang
• At least 45 years old (same for VP)
• Senior Party Leaders
• Recently General Secretary and President are
the SAME
• Elected by National People’s Congress
• Head of Government- Premier (like a PM) Pres. Xi Jinping

• Formally appointed by President but always

from Politburo Standing Committee (Party side)
• Directs the State Council (like a cabinet)
• Made up of ministers who direct bureaucracy
National People’s Congress
• National People’s Congress
• “Formal” authority of government to rule on
people’s behalf
• Meets once a year in March for two weeks
• 2,980 members – “deputies”
• 5 year terms
• Chosen from lower people’s congresses
• Chooses President/VP – but only one candidate
for each
• Has little power, but announces Politburo’s
policies
Great Hall of the People, Beijing
Powers of the National People’s Congress
• National People’s Congress “On Paper” (in • Deputies include:
Constitution) has the power to: • •Reps from SARs

• Enact/amend laws • •Rep with Taiwanese ancestry represents Taiwan

• •Marjority are members of CCP
• Approve state budget
• •Some members of noncommunist (& powerless)
• Declare/end war political parties
• Elect/recall president and VP, chair of state • •Workers/farmers (20%)
Central Military Commission, head of China’s • •Women – 20%
Supreme Court, and procurator-general
• •Ethnic Minorities – 15%
• Final approval over selection of premier and • •3 migrant workers to represent about 150 million were
members of State Council elected in 2008
• In Fact: • •More than 90% have junior college decrees or above,
more than ½ have advanced degrees
• Powers are only exercised as allowed by
Communist Party
Bureaucracy
• Exists on all levels
• Immense in size and scope
• Made up of cadres – 30 million!
• Person who exercises a position of authority in
communist govt
• May or may not be Party members
• Most must now retire between ages of 60-70
• China recruits leaders through Cadre List
(nomenklatura)
• System of choosing cadres from lower levels of
party hierarchy for advancement based on their
Chinese Central Bank, Beijing loyalty/contributions to party
 Local Government
• Historically strong central government that has consistently resisted federalism
• Central structure of parallel party/government rule in local governments
• 34 provincial-level administrative units, almost 3,000 counties, over 40,000 townships, more
than 700,000 villages
• National government has devolved substantial economic policy-making power to regional and
local levels
• Local authorities have no authority to tax nor other sources of revenue, so they manipulate their
control of property to seize land of local residents to generate profits.
• Over past three decades, central political leaders experimenting with limited local democratization
• Right to secret ballot elections of county-level people’s congresses.
• Liberalization has yet to trickle up beyond the local level
Judiciary
• Peoples Court System
• “Rule by law” rather than “rule of law”
• Peoples Procuratorate – supplies lawyers
• No rule of law under Mao, but acknowledged today
• Business liberalization has demanded it
• Party uses system as a weapon
• Criminal Justice system works quickly and harshly – 99% conviction rate
• World leader in use of death penalty
“Political power grows out of the
barrel of a gun.  Our principle is
that the party commands the gun
and the gun must never be
allowed to command the party.” –
Mao Zedong
READ THE FOLLOWING QUOTE AND EXPLAIN ITS MEANING IN TERMS OF POWER IN CHINA.
People’s Liberation Army
• World’s largest military force – 2.3 million active
personnel
• Garnered prestige and heroic stature in battle to
add to CCP’s legitimacy once PRC established
• Played key role in 1950s economic reconstruction
• Halted Red Guard in Cultural Revolution
• Curtailed 1989 Tiananmen Square protests
• During the reform period, party leaders have sought
to narrow the military’s economic and political roles.
• Includes branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Rocket • Compare and Contrast:
Force, Strategic Support Force, Joint Logistic Support
Force • Modern Chinese Military Commercial: https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_qr-4AKM18
• Key organization is Central Military Commission (CMC
• Modern US Military Commercial: https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5ufp07bmuw
Why must we stand firm on the party's leadership
over the military? Because that's the lesson from
the collapse of the Soviet Union. In Soviet Union,
where the military was depoliticized, separated
from the party and nationalized, the party was
disarmed. When the country came to crisis point,
a big party was gone just like that. Proportionally,
the Soviet Communist Party had more members
than we (Communist Party of China) do, but
nobody was man enough to stand up and resist.
-XI JINPING
Political Competition
Political Culture and Ideology
• Long history of centrally imposed authoritarian
politics
• Importance of Maoist and communist ideas waned
since Mao’s death
• Despite Mao’s rejection of Confucian ideals, current
leaders have embraced values as legitimate
• However, modern cultural values, especially in
urban areas, giving way to individualism
• Fierce nationalism, xenophobia have been
cornerstone of Chinese political culture
• Male domination of political culture continues today
Discussion: Describe three
different forms of political
participation in authoritarian
systems.
Describe three different forms of political participation in
authoritarian systems.

• Joining political parties, standing for office

• Voting
• Protests/demonstrations
• Civil disobedience
• Coup d’etat, revolutions, political violence
• Joining interest groups, NGOs, Citizens policy meetings (mass
line)
Membership of the CCP
• Membership in CCP remains essential for
acquiring political influence.
• Membership sought after and selective
• Over time, different societal sectors targeted for
party inclusion
• Three Represents: 2001 party policy to include
private entrepreneurs along with workers,
peasants
• There is no institutionalized “vice office” to ease
transition to successor.
• Deng institutionalized succession process after
chaos following Mao’s death
CCP and Political Participation
• Largest political party in world • The eight parties of the United Front, which are also
known as "democratic parties" include:
• Only 8% of citizens age 18+ are members • The China Revolutionary Committee of the
Kuomingtang
• 2001 – capitalists allowed to become
• The China Democratic League
members
• The China Democratic National Construction
• CCP’s Youth League Association

• More than 75 million members • The China Association for the Promotion of Democracy
• The Chinese Peasants and Workers Party
• CCP allows existence of eight “democratic”
• The China Zhi Gong Party
parties, comprise the United Front
• The Jiu San Society
• Advisory role only • The Taiwan Democratic Self Government League
• Each party is associated with a certain • These parties are overseen by the United Front Work
interest. Department, which is in turn overseen by part of the CPC
and many United Front members are also CPC members.
•      Communist Party of China
(2100)
United Front and Independent
(857):
•      Jiusan Society (64)
•      China Democratic
League (57)
•      China National
Democratic Construction
Association (57)
•      China Association for
Promoting Democracy (55)
•      Chinese Peasants' and
Workers' Democratic Party
(54)
•      Revolutionary
Committee of the Chinese
Kuomintang (43)
•      China Zhi Gong Party
(38)
•      Taiwan Democratic
Self-Government League
(13)
•      Independent (476)
Vacant (23):
•      Vacant (23)
Local Elections and Legitimacy
• PRC holds local elections to legitimize government and CCP
• Party controls the commissions that run elections and approves lists of candidates
• Direct elections held at the local level only
• Voters choose deputies to serve on county people’s congresses
• Since 1980s, CCP has allowed more than one candidate to run for county positions
• Move toward democracy at village level
• Local officials are no longer appointed from above, but are chosen in direct, secret ballot elections
• Village CCP committee closely monitors grass-roots elections. 
• In many cases, the local Communist Party leader has been chosen to serve simultaneously as the
village head in a competitive election
Party Co-Optation
• Organized interest groups/social movements are not permitted unless under party-state
authority
• Party-state forms mass organizations
• Def: Organizations in a communist party-state that represent the interest of a particular social
group, such as workers or women, but which are controlled by the communist party and in
which people express view within strict limits
• Examples: All-China Federation of Trade Unions or All-China’s Women’s Federation
• Urban areas party maintains social control through Danwei (place of work)
• People depend on Danwei units for jobs, income, promotion, medical care, housing, daycare
centers and recreational facilities
• Truly independent interest groups and social movements are not permitted to influence the
political process in the PRC in any significant way
 Civil Society
• Non-existent under Mao
• In the last few decades, private organizations growing but
with sole focus on social issues that do not directly challenge
authority of state
• In 1990s, NGOs could register with government
• NGOs are less directly subordinate to the CCP than official
mass organizations
• Variety of local and national NGOs
• Deal with environment, health, charity, and legal issues
• Must register with government, but have latitude to operate In spite of a political clampdown, a flourishing civil society
without direct party interference IF they steer clear of politics is taking hold
and do not challenge official policies
• Christianity and Buddhism rebounding
Dissidents
• Wei Jingshang
• Democracy Wall
• Fang Lizhi
• Leader of student movement of the
80s
• Ai Weiwei
• Fulan Gong
State Run Media
• Most are state-run and controlled
• Some independent media today
• Investigative reporting has had the most
growth –but in limited scope – ex. 
Corruption
• Xinhua is the official state press agency
• All are subject to censorship by the state
• Internet is strictly controlled
GONGOs
• •GONGOs: government-operated
nongovernmental organizations formed by
the CCP
• Party-state has authorized work of half a
million NGOs
• Restricted to nonpolitical areas with
government oversight
• Foreign NGOs must secure approved local
partner
• Red capitalists: private entrepreneurs who
belong to the CCP
 “All work of the party’s news and public
opinion media must reflect the will of the
party, mirror the views of the party,
preserve the authority of the party,
preserve the unity of the party, and
achieve love of the party, protection of
the party and acting for the party [and
must maintain] a high level of uniformity
with the party in ideology, politics and
action.”
AS QUOTED DURING XI’S INSPECTION TOUR OF CHINA CENTRAL TELEVISION (CCTV) AND PEOPLE’S DAILY ON
19 FEBRUARY 2016
Social Media
•Strong government crackdown on demonstrations, protests
•Tiananmen Square
•Falun Gong
•

•Growing variety of increasingly motivated, articulate social groups

•

•Government heavily censors website content, but has faced trouble in recent
years curtailing Weibo and WeChat
•
•Labeled “Golden Shield” by the government, and more colloquially
known as the “Great Firewall of China,” the party-state’s huge project of
social media control has been surprisingly successful to date. However,
even as the party-state has banned Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram;
cowed Yahoo and Google; and taken control of China’s domestic
private Internet service providers, the CCP’s net nannies have not been
able to fully tame China’s mobile phone-based microblogs.
For several years, the popular microblogging service Weibo (literally “microblog”) offered a relatively open venue for Chinese to express their opinions and share uncensored news and
rumors. In 2012, the central government cracked down on Weibo by no longer permitting anonymous postings, filtering and censoring sensitive content, flooding the site with pro-
government propaganda, and punishing those who violated strict new laws governing the site.

But for all the party state’s capacity, silencing these proliferating message apps and social networking platforms would be hugely unpopular and perhaps at this point impossible. In
2013, Chinese netizens daily posted over 250 million microblog messages and over 20 billion WeChat and other instant messages. It remains to be seen how microblogging and
micromessaging will continue to change Chinese society and perhaps even its politics.
Corruption
• Corruption challenges economic growth and
political stability.
• Corruption exacerbates inequality and
frustrations with elite privilege.
• Xi Jinping has made sweeping anti-
corruption campaign efforts, but there are
rising concerns about how badly this will
hurt economy.
Chinese Ethnic Groups and Society
Minority Ethnic Groups
• Ethnic population is primarily Han Chinese • Because dissidents are a long way from areas
(92%) of dense population, China is worried that they
may encourage independence, or join with
• Minority ethnic groups = 8% of pop
neighboring countries
• 56 officially recognized minority groups
• Government policy:
• Most live on/near borders with other countries
in areas that are sparsely populated BUT they • Co-Optation, Pacification, and Repression
occupy about 60% of total land area of PRC • Encourage economic development
• Most are in 5 autonomous regions:  Guangxi, (Transportation, Infrastructure, Jobs)
Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Tibet, and Xinjiang • Encourage Migration of Han
• Some autonomous regions are very resource
• Some autonomy in cultural matters:  use of
rich with water, oil, gas, and rare earth minerals
minority languages in media/literature,
(used in modern technology)
bilingual education, minority religions
• Often seen as vital and non-negotiable regions (through state approved organizations)
Uighers in Xinjiang
• Live in Xinjiang, very close to borders with Afghanistan and
Pakistan
• Their language is related to Turkish and they regard themselves as
culturally and ethnically closer to Central Asia than the rest of
China
• In recent decades there has been increasing Han Chinese
migration to the region and many Uighurs complain of
discrimination. Han Chinese make up roughly 40% of Xinjiang's
population, while about 45% are Uighurs.
• In 2010 riots and fighting between Uyghurs and Han
• 150 deaths, 1,000 injuries, 1500 people arrested (almost all
Uyghurs) – 12 sentenced to death
• Militants want to create a separate Islamic state of “East
Turkestan” – use violence, including bombings and assassinations
Surveillance State in Xinjiang
• China has turned the northwestern region of Xinjiang into a
vast experiment in domestic surveillance.

• Prototypes are used in Xinjiang before being deployed to

the rest of China.

• Chinese authorities are using a mobile app to carry out

illegal mass surveillance and arbitrary detention of Muslims
in China's western Xinjiang region

• China: "the world's biggest camera surveillance network" -

BBC News- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNf4-
d6fDoY

• Wall Street Journal Life Inside China's Total Surveillance

State- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQ5LnY21Hgc

• China: facial recognition and state control | The Economist-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lH2gMNrUuEY
What’s Happening in Xinjiang?
Concentration Camps or Re-Education Centers

Differing Perspectives
WESTERN MEDIA

BBC- China’s Hidden Camps- https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=qmvyjwLxC5I

VOX- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3YBomwuB10

PBS Frontline Documentary- https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=wM1DjkPWtj0

CHINESE STATE MEDIA

CGTN- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wb-MNi8E-TA

CGTN- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3YBomwuB10
The methods that our comrades
have at hand are too primitive,
none of these weapons is any
answer for their (Uighers) big
machete blades, ax heads and
cold steel weapons. We must be
as harsh as them, and "show
absolutely no mercy.”

– JOHNNY APPLESEED
Tibet
• Under Chinese military occupation since early
1950s
• Former gov’t of Tibet never recognized Chinese
authority
• Practice a unique form of Buddhism – most fiercely
loyal to Dalai Lama, priest believed to be the
incarnation of the divine being
• 1959 Dalai Lama fled to exile in India following a
failed rebellion by his followers
• Mao – suppressed Tibetan culture
• Since late 1970s – Buddhist temples/monasteries
have been allowed to reopen; more cultural
freedom
• BUT Chinese troops have crushed several anti-
China demonstrations
Protests and Self-Immolation in Tibet
• Tensions exploded in 2008 in the run-up to
the Olympic Games in Beijing. Clashes
between anti-Chinese protesters and
security forces began in the Tibet's capital,
Lhasa, and spread to Tibetan communities
elsewhere in China.
• Beijing said 19 people were killed in the
rioting, while Tibetan exile groups said
nearly 100 people had been killed by
security forces
Growing Economic Inequality
• Economic growth has led to “Two Chinas”
• In 2018, about 831 million people lived in urban regions in China and 564 million in rural. That year, the
country reached a total population of approximately 1.39 billion people.
• That puts the number of people residing in China’s towns and cities almost triple the total U.S.
population
• Increasing inequality
• Rate of urbanization: 2.3% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
• In 2011,China’s urban population surpassed that of rural areas for the first time in the country’s history
after three decades of economic development encouraged farmers to seek better living standards in
towns and cities.
• 3.6 percentage points: the gap between the ability for rural and urban Chinese youth to access the
internet.
Growing Economic Inequality
• 225 million rural-born migrant workers—
one fifth of China’s population—work in
urban areas but are denied benefits
enjoyed by city dwellers
• Resulted in “a metastasizing underclass of
rural migrants living as second-class citizens
in China’s cities…the divide has sparked
anger among the rural poor.”
How does the CCP maintain control?
• Migration of Han Chinese to those regions

• Economic Investment

• Military Domination

• Cultural Autonomy-Different rules in

different regions
• “Reserves seats” for ethnic minorities in the
National People’s Congress
• Use “Patriotic Education”
Chinese Political Economy
Iron Rice Bowl and Great Leap Forward
• China adopts a Soviet-style communist economic
model
• Iron Rice Bowl
• Retain state ownership of property and control of
economy through central planning
• Favored development of heavy industry at
expense of consumer goods.
• Nationalization and redistribution of Land
• Great Leap Forward
• Goal was to economically leap “Twenty Years in
Day” to catch up to the West.
• Reds vs Experts
• Colossal Failure and up to 45 million (est.) died of
famine
Cultural Revolution
• Cultural Revolution in 1966
• Schools and Factories shut down
• Students and workers refused to work
• Economic ruin for the country. 
• Left it even poorer and more isolated in
the world
Beginning to Open to the World
• Reform and Opening- shift from equity to
rapid economic growth
• Household Responsibility System
• Largely private farming system.  Free to
sell surplus on open market.
• Industries were decentralized
• Elimination of Price controls
• Special Economic Zones established.
• Tax breaks to lure foreign investors to
special coastal enclaves.
A New Economy on the Move
• Shift of focus from urban to rural and devolved
economic decision powers to provincial levels,
local levels, and private entrepreneurs.
• Become a “Socialist market economy”
• Results in
• Economic growth of 10% every year for over
30 years
• GDP has grown 15 fold
• 100s of millions lifted out of poverty.  China
still very poor. 
• PPP- $14,600
• China before and after pictures: https://
www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-46602785
A Tale of Two Approaches
• China’s economy now is decidedly capitalist
• Private sector accounts for ¾ of output.  ¼ is by
State owned enterprises.
• Party has tightened grip on “strategic
industries” of China
• Beijing Consensus- Neo-mercantalist
development model that is counter to the
neoliberal free-market development model
called the Washington consensus.
• State gives preferential treatment to certain
companies. 
• Concerns over intellectual/property rights in
China.
• Joined the WTO in 2001
Shanghai in
1987 and
Shanghai in
2013
China’s Growth Model Brings Challenges
• Labor can lay off unproductive employees. 
Decline of the Iron Rice Bowl
• Inequality between individuals and urban/rural
is increasing.
• Geographical differences between East China
and western provinces.
• Migrant workers are coming to the cities
looking for work but do not qualify for hukou. 
• Huge resource shortages and environmental
issues have resulted as of growth.
• Trade surplus has ballooned in China.
• Factionalism in the party: Populists vs Elites.
 Environmental Effects
• China has become the world’s biggest producer of
greenhouse gases and the largest energy consumer.
• Air, soil, and water pollution have reached toxic
levels in many areas of the country.
• The party-state has been encouraging efforts of
environmental NGOs, targeting green energy as a
leading economic growth sector.
• Policies to correct the problem include:
• shutting factories temporarily
• moving factories
• Reduced use of automobiles
• implementation of green technologies
Chinese Foreign Affairs
 Safeguarding the interests of our
Taiwan compatriots and expanding
their well-being is the mainland's oft-
repeated pledge and solemn
promise of the new leaders of China's
Communist Party central committee.
– JOHNNY APPLESEED
Taiwan
• Threat to this idea of peaceful rise of China is
threat of war with Taiwan. 
• Established as the Republic of China after 1949,
it prospered as a capitalist authoritarian regime
under the military protection of the US.
• Forced to give up UN Security Council seat in
1971 to the PRC.  US ceased formal relations in
1979.
• China regards Taiwan as a province of China
and part of its “core interests”
• Threatened it with military action and tried to
woo it economically.  China sought to use its
democratic system since in 1980s against
Taiwan.
One China Policy
• US continues to militarily protect Taiwan and
provide it with weapons.  A thorn in the side of
Beijing.
• However, trade and investment between Taiwan
and China growing.
• China considers it essential to the One China Policy
• One-China Policy was first stated in the
Shanghai Communiqué of 1972: "the United
States acknowledges that Chinese on either side
of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is but one
China and that Taiwan is a part of China. The
United States does not challenge that position.”
• What is One China Policy? | CNBC Explains:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZHIjhwzIXA
Hong Kong
• Hong Kong may provide a solution for the Taiwan issue.
• In 1997, the British gave back control of HK under the
policy of one country, two systems.
• China guaranteed virtual autonomy of Hong Kong for
a period of 50 years.
• Under the principle, HK could continue to have its
own governmental system, legal, economic and
financial affairs, including trade relations with foreign
countries.
• HK does not control its own foreign affairs or defense.
• National Security Law Passed by NPCSC in June 2020
virtually ending Hong Kong’s autonomy.
• •VOX Video China is Erasing its Border with Hong Kong:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQyxG4vTyZ8
 2019 Hong Kong Protests
• Most serious challenge to China's authority since the Tiananmen
Square massacre
• Triggered by the introduction of the Fugitive Offenders amendment
bill by the Hong Kong government.
• If enacted, would have allowed extradition to jurisdictions with which
Hong Kong does not currently have extradition agreements, including
mainland China and Taiwan.
• Concerns that the bill would subject Hong Kong residents and visitors
to the legal system of mainland China, thereby undermining Hong
Kong's autonomy and infringing civil liberties.
• Videos:
• Protests Explained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_RdnVtfZPY
• • Hong Kong Protests: What is at Stake for China: https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfmR54giIJA
Japan
• Historical Legacy of hatred of Japan due to
imperialism and oppression and genocide
from WWII
• Today, there is a tense territorial stand-off
between Japan (backed by the US military)
and China over the Diaoyu (China) or
Senkaku (Japan) Islands in the East China
Sea
• Desire Fishing and Petroleum Resources
• Helps to spurn nationalism in both
countries
South China Sea Dispute
• Conflict over sovereignty in the South China Sea
• China building man-made islands to try to physically
extend sovereignty over the resources and trade routes
through the sea.
• Violation on the UN Convention on the Law of the Seas
• Angering SE Asian Neighbors such as the Philippines,
Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, as well as Australia,
Singapore, and the United States
• Europeans, Japanese, and Americans carry our routine
freedom of navigation voyages and freedom of air space
operations to the dismay of the People’s Liberation Army.
• Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=luTPMHC7zHY
 The Near Neighbors
• The Belt and Road Initiative
• Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvXROXiIpvQ
• India
• Fought a brief border war in the 1960s.  Now India’s largest trade partner.  Now they are relatively amiable.
Relations worsening in 2020 after renewed clashes on Himalayan border.
• Russia
• Signed first friendship treaty in 50 years in 2001.
• Resolved border disputes and is now getting many resources from Russia such as oil and gas.
• North Korea
• Concerned about the nuclear capabilities of NK, its traditional ally since the Korean War of the 1950s.
• Is the chief provider of NK economic aid.
• Must balance between its ally and its investment partner, S. Korea.
US-China Relations
• Characterized by mistrust and tension as of late.
• After 9/11 relations improved due top a mutual enemy of terrorism.
• Supported US invasion in Afghanistan but not Iraq and Libya.
• China views the US Pivot to Asia as a form of encirclement.
• At the heart of relationship is at least $600 billion or more in trade
between the two. 
• Critics in the US claim that Chinese currency is manipulated and
undervalued.  C
• oncern over property and intellectual rights as well
• Trade War Started by Trump in early 2018.
• Is War Inevitable TED Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/
graham_allison_is_war_between_china_and_the_us_inevitable
 Videos for Class
• The Chinese Mindset
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD1nDGeiSAs
• China’s Geography Problem
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiBF6v5UAAE
• Geopolitics of the South China Sea
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcFiJwpvmq0
• Belt and Road- VOX
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvXROXiIpvQ
• China Power and Prosperity (Great segments) playlist
• https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgawtcOBBjr8wFQ9p5mJIw-nsq_EXKBFi
• Inside China’s Thought Transformation Camps in Xinjiang

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmId2ZP3h0c