China: Authoritarian State and Historical Overview

Rebiya Kadeer's Story and Uyghur Treatment

• Rebiya Kadeer, a prominent Uyghur leader and activist, has become a symbol of the struggle for Uyghur rights in China, where the authoritarian state exerts significant influence over its ethnic minorities.

• Her story illustrates not only the personal struggles she faced while advocating for the Uyghur people but also the broader challenges China poses in suppressing dissent and controlling narratives around minority issues.

• The Chinese government's efforts are particularly intense in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, where allegations of human rights abuses, including mass internment, forced assimilation, and cultural eradication, have raised international concerns.

• The Han majority maintains its power by preventing perceived threats to state sovereignty and integrating regions like Xinjiang into the national framework, often under the justification of promoting stability and economic development.

• The treatment of Uyghurs has been described as a systematic attempt to reshape their identity, which includes restricting religious practices, enforcing Mandarin language education, and surveillance.

• Kadeer's advocacy has garnered significant international attention, bringing to light the plight of the Uyghurs, yet her efforts face the substantial challenge of combating misinformation and the Chinese state's narrative that brands her and other activists as separatists.

China and Iran: Authoritarian States

• Both China and Iran are characterized as unitary states with dual rule, where a singular government structure is complemented by the overarching power of ruling political parties.

• China is primarily governed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which dominates political life and decision-making.

  • China has become an economic powerhouse, liberalizing its economy through reforms that began in the late 20th century, yet it has purposely avoided democratizing its political system, maintaining strict control over political dissent and civil liberties.

Dual Rule

• Dual rule refers to a political system where two different groups exert authority over a state, often leading to a complex intertwining of power that can manifest in both political and economic realms.

Learning Targets

1. Describe the events leading to Mao Zedong's leadership and detail his policies during the Mao era, including the key social and political shifts.

2. Explain China’s significant shift from a command economy to market reforms under Deng Xiaoping and how these reforms reshaped the economic landscape.

3. Discuss how the Chinese regime, through various means, has resisted democratization, using historical events as examples.

4. Describe China's classification as a unitary state and its implications for governance and local controls.

5. Identify sources of legitimacy in China's regime, such as economic performance, and outline the challenges it faces, including public discontent and corruption.

Historical Context of China

• As one of the world's oldest nations, China was unified in 221 BCE, establishing a centralized bureaucracy that has evolved through millennia of dynastic cycles.

• The mid-19th century marked a significant period of upheaval due to foreign domination and internal strife, particularly triggered by the Opium Wars.

• This period saw the rise of peasantry as a force of grievance, spawning movements aimed at challenging the ruling Qing dynasty and righting perceived injustices.

Key Figures

• Sun Yat-sen: A pivotal figure in the nationalist movement, Yat-sen is celebrated as the founder of the Republic of China in 1912, advocating for modernity and democracy.

• Mao Zedong: Mao played a crucial role in transforming China into a communist state, emphasizing peasant revolutions as the primary vehicle for change rather than industrial workers.

  • He led significant campaigns, including the Long March, and achieved a communist victory in 1949, which resulted in the establishment of the People's Republic of China, marking a profound shift in the nation’s political landscape.

Policies during Mao's Era

• Mao's era was marked by large-scale campaigns aimed at addressing corruption and various social issues, often through radical and disruptive reforms.

• His policies included the creation of collective farms and the implementation of a Soviet-style command economy, leading to catastrophic events like the Great Leap Forward, which precipitated a famine resulting in the deaths of approximately 20 million people.

• The Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) was another significant movement that sought to reassert Mao's control, leading to widespread economic and social dislocation, culminating with his death.

Deng Xiaoping's Reforms

• Initiated in 1979, Deng's reforms marked a conscious shift from rigid state control towards a more market-oriented approach, designed to enhance economic activity while restructuring the party's role.

• These reforms gradually created a market economy, contributing significantly to China’s rapid economic growth, vastly improving living standards for many but also introducing new social challenges.

Resistance to Democratization

• Despite substantial economic reform, China maintains robust authoritarian control, with the regime continuously invoking claims of communist ideals to justify repression.

• Major incidents, such as the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, highlighted the regime’s intolerance for political dissent: protests sparked by Hu Yaobang's death escalated into calls for government accountability, leading to a brutal military crackdown that resulted in widespread casualties and condemnation from the international community.

Recent Protests in Hong Kong (2019)

• The 2019 protests in Hong Kong erupted in response to proposed extradition laws perceived as a threat to civil liberties, which Beijing labeled as foreign-backed terrorism, intensifying opposition sentiments.

• Central tensions arose from the erosion of promised civil liberties following the 1997 transfer of sovereignty from Britain to China, showcasing ongoing struggles for autonomy and rights.

Unitary State Structure

• China exemplifies a unitary state with a centralized authority, which tends to facilitate more consistent policy-making compared to federal systems.

• While autonomous regions exist for significant ethnic minorities, local governance is generally exercised under the oversight of the national government, limiting true autonomy.

Legitimacy and Challenges

• The legitimacy of the Chinese regime is largely founded upon its ability to deliver economic growth; however, this is increasingly challenged by endemic corruption.

• Anti-corruption campaigns have become a focal point of Xi Jinping’s leadership, yet high levels of citizen satisfaction with the central government (approximately 95%) contrast starkly with local dissatisfaction (about 11%), pointing to deep-seated issues.

Corruption's Impact

• Corruption directly undermines citizens’ trust in government institutions; particularly damaging is local corruption, which has tangible impacts on daily life and governance.

• Initiated under Xi, a major push against corruption has been launched, showing progress yet indicating ongoing challenges that continue to plague the system.

Review Points

• The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has maintained its iron grip on power since 1949, directly impacting governance and policy direction.

• A significant shift from a command economy to market reforms has defined China's recent history, significantly transforming its economic standing on the global stage.

• While China operates as a unitary state, nuances in governance allow for limited local autonomy, especially within ethnic regions, fostering complexities in local governance.

• Economic performance remains a critical pillar for the regime's legitimacy, yet ongoing corruption challenges pose significant threats to stability and trust in the central authority.