China is definitely not considered democratic concerning its social situation. Not only does it have no official civil society, but as of 2004, the regime plans to imbed identification microchips into all of the Chinese citizens in order to be able to track and locate individuals. This proves how insecure and paranoid the regime is.
To begin - a summary of Chinese society in general. Other countries consider Chinese to be relatively homogenous. Ethnically, China is mostly Han Chinese, however, there are 55 minority nationalities as well. Many of these minorities live in autonomous areas (Tibet, Xingjian) which make up more than 60% of China’s territory. Historically, these minority groups are very resistant to their leading regime. There is also an incredible amount of linguistic diversity, equaling of about 8 main languages, each of which having hundreds of dialects. The main three languages are Mandarin, Wu, and Yue.
But even if all of these groups united in an attempt to overthrow the government and become democratic, it’d still be difficult. Communist parties are very greedy institutions - they desire control of all aspects of citizens’ lives, publicly and privately. During the Maoist era, a unit system referred to as Danwei was created by the government. It allowed the upper class to stay in power and control. This system basically labeled each citizen with an affiliation to their jobs – for their lifetime. For example, if a Chinese man was a farmer, the government forced him to remain a farmer, never allowing him to become anything else and never moving to a different geographical location. This plan was also reinforced by the hukou system, or household registration. This system allowed the government to keep track of where families lived and if they tried to leave. Angry with these limitations, however, between 100 and 150 million Chinese workers abandoned their homes and work. They moved throughout the country – free from the rules of danwei and hukuo. This population came to be known as the “Floating Population.” That’s why, in 2003, the government announced their plan to enforced embedded identity microchips.
Clearly, just by these few examples, it is already obvious that Chinese social aspects are no where near a democratic society. “Social scientists believe that a country's progression toward a more open, pluralistic and competitive political system is dependent on whether the country allows a civil society to emerge.” (Ye) And as for a Chinese civil society, the CCP claims that there officially is none in China. The government instead creates its own institutions, run and lead by party members. Two examples of these institutions are Women’s Federation and All-China Federation of Trade Unions. The government considers any non-governmentally led institutions to be illegitimate and even threatening.
The Chinese regime actually organizes their nongovernmental associations – which are a conundrum. Scholars like to refer to them as “GONGOS” – government organized NGOs. (Ye) The regime does however allow non-party members to lead these associations, and so there is possible hope that a civil society could emerge in China’s future. These NGOs are still under the iron grip of the government. However, recent developments in the political climate show that the government may be willing to compromise some of its authoritative hold over NGOs for the first time in many years. (Chong)
This illegality of civil associations, however, has not prevented their emergence. The most well known example of a nongovernmentally led protest was when the students at Tiananmen Square rebelled against the government in 1989. Activists were protesting the authoritarian leadership style of their government, but the protest became violent when police got involved. The government claimed 200-300 dead or injured, but Chinese students claimed 2,000-3,000.
Another example of a civil association is the Falun Gong movement. At first “okayed” by the regime, it began as public martial art exercises in parks, but as it gained popularity, it grew into demonstrations and rallies. Mind you, these demonstrations and rallies had NO POLITICAL AGENDA, and yet the government still shut down the association.
Internet usage is also an area of concern for the Chinese government. With cooperation from Google and Yahoo, the regime has forbidden the publication of any videos or media that abuses the government. The regime wants to censor any dangerous resources (articles from observing countries that agree with the Chinese citizens that they are being mistreated, for example) and prevent any use of unapproved political activity. Seeing as how this will be extremely hard to monitor and prevent, scholars predict that it won’t last long.
Scholars must also keep in mind, that the idea of a civil society is an idea of Western culture. “Civil Society is a new concept in China. In it’s original meaning, civil society reflects the growth of Non-profit Sector as a power balance of government and private sectors. The institutional connotation of civil society includes three aspects: limited government, market economy, and rule of law. In institutional words, civil society is based on the idea of maximization of individual rights.” (Xijin) China is a collectivist country, where equality for the group is more important than individual rights. It is interesting to see how, with the emergence of civil society, this cultural view must change in order to become a democracy.
It is also difficult for NGOs to be created when there are far more limitations on civil society than there are the economy. “Chinese civil society has the following characteristics: First, it bears the tasks of both the market economy development and social independence from the government. Second, the market economy developed fast than the social space. Third, the process of social independence is pushed by the government.” (Xijin) How is it fair for democratic countries to criticize China’s civil society when it has so much working against it?
Yet, with these more civil organizations and NGOs, among others, hope is given to the public that one day the “cycle of subversive rebellion, state repression, and renewed social resistance” will end and a civil society will finally be allowed. (O'Neil) “A lot of it comes down to a lack of trust. The Chinese are not doing enough to build relationships with civil society.” (Schiller) The government is paranoid that all institutions and associations will meet in order to overthrow the regime. They need to trust their citizens, and the citizens need to trust their government.
It is important to define civil society before applying the term to countries. “Perhaps the simplest way to see civil society is as a "third sector," distinct from government and business.” (“What Is Civil Society?”) Examples of these institutions would be religious groups, labor unions, and clubs. “Many would hold that a free and vigorous press is an essential element in civil society.” (“What Is Civil Society?”) Considering China’s grip on the media, with the interest blockage, this is not a quality or trait that their civil society has. The key factor that China must consider if they are to truly become democratic is to learn to trust their government, and vice versa.
Chong, Agnes. "Chinese civil society comes of age." Open Democracy 22 Sep 2005 12 May 2008 .
O'Neil, Patrick. Essentials of Comparative Politics. Second. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2007.
Schiller, Ben. "The China model." Open Democracy 20 Dec 2005 12 May 2008 .
"What Is Civil Society?." Civil Society International 2003 12 May 2008 .
Xijin, Jia. "Theory and Practice of Civil Society in China." Atlas Conferences 14 July 2004 12 May 2008 .
Ye, Zang. "China's Emerging Civil Society." The Brookings Institution Aug 2008 12 May 2008 .
