By Minxin Pei
Second, China’s economic growth, impressive in number, is actually low in quality. Expansion of the economy is achieved by undercutting social services (such as healthcare, poverty reduction, and education) and neglecting the environment. Deteriorating social services can stoke discontent among ordinary people, who rely on them much more than the elites. Worse still, environmental degradation, a direct result of Beijing’s blind focus on GDP growth, has now become a major cause of social protest. The Ministry of Environmental Protection admits publicly that mass incidents triggered by environmental pollution have been growing at double-digit each year (although it has withheld the actual numbers).
Third, social protest is an inevitable response by ordinary people to systemic corruption, repression and petty despotism that defines a one-party regime. In such a system, the agents of the regime wield enormous power but are subject to little accountability. Their use of coercion and violence against defenseless citizens is routine and habitual. In the case of the Wukan protest, the spark that ignited the mass incident was the death of a representative sent by the villagers to negotiate with local authorities. He was believed to have been tortured by the police. Because this system produces innocent victims daily, it should at least expect its victims to rise up in self-defense.
It’s therefore clear that mass social protest has become a permanent feature of the Chinese political system. Although such protest, by itself, won’t dethrone the Communist Party, it does weaken the party’s rule in subtle ways. Trying to maintain control over a restive population is forcing the party to expend ever-more resources on domestic security. Letting such routine protest – amplified by the Internet and microblogs – occur makes the party look weak and incompetent. Having tens of millions of disgruntled citizens also means that potential opposition movement can find political allies among China’s down-trodden masses. Worst of all, in a political crisis, these enemies of the regime could all rise in revolt spontaneously.
Perhaps Chinese domestic security officials should be even more worried. Today it’s Wukan. Could Beijing be next?
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Robert
Countries like Canada have become a haven for corrupt officials from China. In Vancouver especially, we have a hot and way over priced real estate market driven by investment from China and the sources of these riches seem to be never questioned. I would think that by providing a safe refuge for these crooked officials, we are enabling corruption in China.
Berniem
One aspect of problems in China that is rarely (in my experience) seen, is the extraordinary effects of propaganda and brain-washing, not of the West but of its own people … starting in kindergarden. Readers, who’s knowledge of this comes from James Bond movies would do well to study scientific journals on the subject, then realize that China is, by far, the world’s expert and greatest exponent of such effects.
Therefore, it is unlikely that the next uprising will take place in Beijing, but is likely to happen soon after.
Ricardo
China is evolving and if the government gets in the way of change, it will become revolutionary. Economic growth is great, but when your property is being taken away, you have no growth yourself.
Tony
Thats the rule of the GUN…no questions asked..give up or die.
Luke
The current Chinese state is in a process of evolution. Free-market economic policies colliding head on with very limited democratic practices and institutions will only result in some form of crisis someday, hopefully a positive change in this process of evolution results. If not, China will never be a superpower akin to the United States.