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The Rise of Civil Society in China

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The Rise of Civil Society in China THE RISE OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN CHINA LIU XIAOBO Social movements are flourishing in China to reflected in the increasing popularity of political jokes with sex- fill the moral vacuum left by officialdom, Liu ual connotations. Popular satire is now applied to every depart- ment and all levels of government. Official efforts to instill patri- Xiaobo observes in this analysis of China’s otism after June 4th have brought about increased nationalism new class of “people’s heroes.” But Liu warns among China’s citizens, but only insofar as national interests that civic associations alone will not provide coincide with personal interests. If given a choice between personal and national interests, the average citizen will certainly an adequate vent for public frustrations if give precedence to personal interests. political suppression and economic disparity The debased status of the public sector has been accompa- nied by a rise in prestige for people or organizations with pop- i continue unchecked. ulist tendencies. For example, international media and private news sources are treated with much greater regard and credibil- The fall of official influence and the rise of populism ity than official media.Although the Chinese Communist Although the bloodshed of June 4, 1989 is long past, the regime does not allow private media sources, private capital and incident has left an enduring legacy of public consciousness and people from outside the system have become heavily involved in a disillusionment with Communist Party values in the hearts of the broadcasting industry,even under the banner of the state- the people – including most officials. run media.All of the state-run media have begun to give their While the Communist Party continues to monopolize public news coverage a popular slant; if this results in censure, they fall power and media, and to maintain its dictatorial position and into line only as long as it takes for the storm to blow over. In political stability through suppression and ideological inculca- particular, Guangdong’s top three newspapers, South China tion, the authorities have suffered a severe loss of prestige and Weekend, 21st Century Economics Journal and 21st Century Universal Journal, credibility and can no longer hope for complete control of civil and the bimonthly Southern Exposure, along with publications from society in the long term.The top-down official policy of reform other cities and provinces such as Economic Observer and China Youth and openness is actually the result of pressure from the people Journal, all are diligently developing their popular appeal. Even below,and once the people become aware of their power, they the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party,CCTV,presents will become harder and more costly to control. programs and segments with a popular bent, such as “Eastern In the reform era, as personal interest has become the great- Leisure,”“Frankly Speaking,”“Reading Time,” and “Half the est source of motivation for the masses, the concepts of “public” Sky,” and employs slogans such as “Caring about the problems and “national” have surrendered much of their status to the con- of the people,” and “Telling the people’s stories.” cepts of “popular” and “personal.” Public justice and morality Apart from reflecting changes in societal values and the has deteriorated as personal advantage has overtaken moral obli- professionalization of broadcasters and reporters, popular gations as the chief preoccupation of the bureaucracy.The trend “color” is a crucial means of survival in the newly competitive in recent years of graduates rushing to joining the Party for the media environment.The People’s Daily and other party organs reasons of personal advantage rather than to serve the people and have resorted to the Party’s administrative power to slow a the nation has resulted in a slide into systemic corruption and relentless drop in subscribers.2 The top Guangdong papers, by abuse of power. Official policies facilitating personal advantage contrast, spurn official assistance and apply capitalist methods have helped the Communist Party co-opt the social elite, but of marketing.The trends in reader subscriptions show clearly have simultaneously led to a siphoning off of public resources and the people’s appreciation for popular media and their loathing increasing dissatisfaction among the lower classes, both of for Party mouthpieces. Even a senior Party official, Li which have contributed to a decline in effective rule by the Party. Changchun, was reported during his stint as Guangdong’s This debasement of official values has also resulted in a loss Party Secretary to have said, “Apart from South China Weekend,I of respect for authority among members of the public, as only read Hong Kong newspapers.”3 Another example of popular values overriding official seas scholars than their actual benefit to the people justifies.A values is the emergence of “people’s champions.” Such individ- few,however, have moved beyond theory to become the con- 2003 uals began appearing as early as the 1970s and 1980s with the science of their profession. For example,Wu Jinglian, a member .3, “May 4th heroes,”“Democracy Wall heroes” such as Wei of an official think tank, has gained the reputation of a “people’s NO Jingsheng and Xu Wenli,and “Intellectual heroes” such as Fang champion” because of his concern for the rights of ordinary Lizhi, Liu Binyan and Wang Ruowang. June 4th produced its own investors in the stock market. Others such as Yang Xiaokai and round of heroes, such as Wang Weilin,who stepped in front of a Zhou Qiren have gained popular plaudits for rejecting the num- tank, Professor Ding Jilin in her fight for human rights,Wang bers game and expressing deep concern over the rights of peas- Dan among the student leaders, and “black hands” such as Wang ants and systemic flaws.There is also Liu Junning, who was Juntao and Chen Zhiming. Former top officials such as Zhao expelled from an official sociological institute because of his Zhiyang and Bao Tong became important moral beacons after strong advocation of constitutional democracy,Qin Hui, who being expelled from official favor, and old party members such was subjected to heavy criticism at Tsinghua University because RIGHTS FORUM as Li Shenzhi, Li Rui, Hu Jiwei and Xu Liangying have become of his outstanding comments on social justice, and Li Changping, increasingly important and daring spokespersons for the inter- who lost his official position as a result of his advocacy on CHINA ests of ordinary people.Although these populist heroes are not behalf of peasants. recognized in the official values system, the values they repre- In the legal community,lawyers such as Zhang Sizhi and Mo 17 sent have been greeted with solidarity and sympathy by many Shaoping have been honored as “champions of Chinese law” within China and by the international mainstream.While unable for their willingness to take on the defense of controversial to spread their messages through the state-controlled media, political dissidents such as myself, Bao Tong,Wang Juntao, Gao such dissidents have attracted much attention outside of China, Yu,Wei Jingsheng, Liu Nianchun, Fang Jue, Xu Wenli,Jiang and through the growing popularity of the Internet they are Qisheng, members of the New Youth Study Group and Liaoning becoming more widely known to their countrymen. Labor Union leader Yao Fuxin.They have been placed under While the Chinese government’s policies of “Dilute the June surveillance, arrested, reprimanded and otherwise molested for 4th Movement” and “Political Cooling” have contributed to a their trouble. Chongqing lawyer Zhou Litai built a practice in SEEDS OF CHANGE reformist retreat, the silent majority continues to nurture values Shenzhen specializing in legal services for workers, handling and notions quite different from the official mainstream. Unless 1,019 cases of ordinary people suing officials and more than the regime can reclaim its moral authority through a transfor- 600 workers’ compensation suits.As a reward for the efforts mation consistent with the preferences of the masses, its down- of this “workers’ lawyer” on behalf of the disadvantaged, his fall is inevitable. Russian scholars’ analysis of the crumbling of Shenzhen office was shut down by Shenzhen’s Longgang the Soviet Union provides just such an example.They find that District Court. American pressure from the outside was of less importance than In discussing the rise of populism, it is impossible to ignore the corruption and decay of morale that destabilized the Soviet the recent trend of privatization of public power and public empire from within. property,which has exacerbated the shift in public sentiment Since the mid-1990’s, the Chinese government’s ideological from public welfare to personal advantage. Unlike privatization legitimacy has weakened precipitously as ubiquitous corrup- among the general populace, which involves profiting from tion, economic stratification and brutal repression of independ- ones own efforts, China’s privatization of public power and ent thought has caused a radical deterioration of the circum- resources is a form of immoral and unjust profit and gain based stances of the disadvantaged majority and a corresponding pop- on elite monopolies rather than fair and free competition.As a ular dissatisfaction with the ruling cadre of Party officials. result, it inspires feelings among the disadvantaged not only of Because the masses lack any legal outlet to express their reason- unfairness,
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