Popular Protest

1
Popular Protests in China

• Class POLS-3148
• Dr. Brown
• By Matt Illuminati
• 4/14/2014

2
Why Popular Protests?

• Popular protests in China is a subject that
  interests me as it clearly displays the attitudes
  that the people have towards the ruling
  government
• Therefore, it sheds a little light on which
  direction the country is headed and how it will
  develop over the next few years

3
Organization/ Outline of Paper

• Begin with a discussion of the past popular
  protests in China
• Explain why events like this are important and
  how they have impacted and influenced protests
  today and the government
• Move onto current protests and explain which ones
  are most popular and important
• Discuss any trends that are taking place among
  them
• For instance, who is protesting and where. Also,
  what are their tactics?
• Which of these protests has the largest impact on
  China and the world?
• What are the effects of protesting on the
  decisions made by government?
• Are there any major changes like a shift towards
  more democracy
• (This is just a preliminary outline as the design
  and format of the paper would surely change as it
  progressed)

4
History/ Background

• The people of China have a strong history of
  protesting the actions and policies of their
  government.
• The protestors are usually students
• Possible explanation for this is that as they
  become more educated they begin to realize the
  flaws in the current governing system and have a
  desire to change it, usually to a more democratic
  form.
• Tiananmen Square Protest, 1989
• Most famous incident involving the deaths of
  several student protestors (Lüsted, 2011)

5
Current

• Chinas current involvement with their issue of
  popular protests is that they allow it until a
  certain extent.
• However, if protester goes too far and publicly
  takes actions are taken that the government deems
  unacceptable and threatening, such as an
  extremely harsh criticism of the government, they
  will put an end to it (the protester would most
  likely become a political prisoner) (Li, 2009).
• That being said, in an age where everything can
  be revealed and secrets are hard to keep,
  silencing a protester is becoming harder for the
  Chinese government.
• The sub-national policies a pretty much
  consistent with the national policies that China
  has on this issue, with the exception of a few
  places where peaceful protests often take place.
  

6
Current

• Government Actions/ Decisions
• Recently, student protestors have taken a stand
  against a couple of government decisions and
  dealings
• The Cross - Strait service pact between China and
  Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) is a focus of attention
  as protestors, mainly students, believe the KMT
  to be dealing with it in an undemocratic way
  (AIT, 2014)
• Education
• Within the past few years students have also
  protested the curriculum involved in the Chinese
  education system (China (Hong Kong), 2012)
• The students claim that the way in which some
  material is taught, like history, is brain -
  washing and not entirely truthful (China (Hong
  Kong), 2012)
• Display of a push for more modernized education
  where students are given the facts and free to
  decide and believe what they want

7
Current

• Environmental - Pollution
• Pollution fairly obvious and large issue for
  China that is being taken more seriously in
  recent years
• Protestors display their discontent with the
  destruction of the Chinese environment and
  exclaim how they want a better effort made to
  control pollution
• Other Protesting
• There are various other topics that are protested
  in China
• Anti - Japan protest involving (Diaoyu Island
  dispute) (Xinhua, 2012)
• Land disputes behind citizens and government

8
Patterns in Protest

• Most of the protestors are from the younger
  generation and are generally students in
  universities
• Chinese government tends to listen when student
  protestors organization and object to certain
  undertakings and policies
• They are the future leaders of China and
  therefore have a greater influence
• When other groups protest government actions and
  policies they tend to go unnoticed and are
  ignored
• Example Villagers on strike (China(Hong Kong),
  2011)
• Villagers have very little political influence as
  they are generally uneducated and in the lower
  class

9
Patterns in Protest

• The methods used by protestors are generally the
  same
• They involve large groups of people that occupy
  public areas like Tiananmen Square or other
  places like legislative buildings
• Hunger strikes have also been used occasionally
  (China (Hong Kong), 2012)
• Outcomes
• The outcomes of protesting vary, there are a few
  variables that the outcome depends on
• Who is protesting and do they matter?
• Student protesting will be taken more seriously
  than a group of villagers protesting
• What is the issue at hand?
• The topic of protest is always important and the
  government has to decide whether or not they
  should give into the demands of the people or
  deny and overrule them

10
Goals of Protest

• Every protest has a different desired goal,
  whether it be a more relaxed education system
  that gives more student to believe what they want
  or a crackdown on pollution that saves the
  environment
• However, with every protest there is a common
  underlying desire among the people of China
• This underlying desire is a more democratic
  nation that includes and gives the people more
  power and say in decision making processes

11
Effect on China

• Chinas strictness regarding popular protest
  affects its standing on an international level in
  a couple of ways
• First of all, it makes it hard for other more
  democratic countries that are open to protesting,
  like the United States, to negotiate with China
  and have a completely stable and trustworthy
  relationship with them.
• In the U.N. both countries are permanent members
  of the Security Council and often seek to vote
  against one another on certain issues. While
  there are many reasons for this, Chinas somewhat
  oppressive regime certainly plays a role.
• Organizations like Amnesty International, work to
  put an end to the human rights violations that
  China commits by suppressing the voices of its
  people, this ultimately lowers Chinas reputation
  as a world superpower.

12
Effect on China

• On a regional level Chinas policy towards
  popular protest is challenged, especially in
  regards to how China deals with protesting about
  relations with Chinese Taipei
• Organizations like AIT (American Institute of
  Taiwan), establish relations between the United
  States and Taiwan. This organization creates
  tension between Taiwan and China, as it clearly
  undermines Chinas authority in the area.

13
Future

• Chinas future direction on popular protest is
  hard to determine
• It seems that for the near future they will not
  being changing their view towards it very much,
  if they change it at all.
• As the protesting in China grows and continues,
  it will be harder for China to keep it under
  control
• I believe that they will eventually have to at
  least give in to some of the demands made by
  protesters or risk losing the ability to
  effectively rule their people and country.

14
Future

• Chinas future attitudes and direction concerning
  popular protest will play a very important role
  in their standing as a global and regional power.
  
• Chinese government will eventually have to give
  into some of the demands of the protesters and
  change their policies a little bit so that they
  become a more democratic nation
• This will allow them to gain more respect and
  some trust among other democratic nations like
  the United States.
• Furthermore, in the region, Chinas power will
  grow as it becomes more stable and as it worries
  less about how its citizens are speaking out
  against and criticizing their government.
• Sources that led me to this conclusion are a
  video by Minqi Li titled, Protest Movement
  Growing in China, a newspaper article published
  by China Daily titled, Taiwan students withdraw
  from legislative building, and a document
  published by Hong Kongs Information and Services
  Department regarding a student protest about the
  education system.

15
Relation to Class

• This topic is related to this part of the class
  in many different ways. However, the part that
  it is related to the most are chapter 6 in the
  Lars book which deals with social dynamics, and
  the very end of the last chapter in Larus which
  discusses the rising social discontent in China,
  and Chinas future as a nation.
• The reason for this is that popular protests in
  China deal with many social issues like education
  reform and increased freedoms.
• Furthermore, the more that the people of China
  protest for these things the harder it will
  become for the Chinese government to not give
  into their demands and become a more democratic
  nation that considers the voices of its people in
  the political process.

16
Most Surprising Part

• The part that I found to be most surprising and
  enjoyable about this topic while researching for
  it, is that students are generally the leaders
  when it comes to protesting against the
  government in China. I found this surprising
  because in the United States, while I am sure
  that there are student led protests, you never
  really hear about big numbers of students
  standing up to and occupying an area in protest
  of the government and a particular policy or
  action that it is taking.

17
Conclusion

• Overall, popular protests in China is a fairly
  large and important topic that plays a major role
  in the shaping of the country and its government.
  While there are many variables in determining the
  goals and outcomes of protests, the most common
  goal is to advance China and transform it into a
  more developed and democratic country that
  respects the rights of its people and includes
  them in the important decisions made by the
  government.

18
Sources

• American Institute in Taiwan. (2014, April).
  Demonstrations in Taipei March 29 - March 31,
  2014. Retrieved April 10, 2014, from
  http//acs.ait.org.tw/en/demonstration-notices.htm
  l
• American Institute in Taiwan. (2010, June 26).
  Taipei Demonstration, June 26, 2010. Retrieved
  April 9, 2014, from http//acs.ait.org.tw/en/demo-
  06-26-2010.html
• China (Hong Kong), Hong Kong's Information
  Services Department, Information Services
  Department. (2011, November 29). News.gov.hk.
  Retrieved April 9, 2014, from http//archive.news.
  gov.hk/en/categories/admin/html/2011/11/20111129_1
  04604.shtml
• China (Hong Kong), Hong Kong's Information
  Services Department, Information Services
  Department. (2012, September 1). News.gov.hk.
  Retrieved April 10, 2014, from http//archive.news
  .gov.hk/en/categories/school_work/html/2012/09/201
  20901_130254.lin.shtml
• Distelhorst, G. (2012). Collective Resistance in
  China Why Popular Protests Succeed or Fail.
  Journal Of East Asian Studies, 12(2), 295-297.

19
Sources

• Li, M. (Director). (2009, October 21). Protest
  movement growing in China Video. Retrieved
  April 12, 2014, from http//therealnews.com/t2/ind
  ex.php?optioncom_contenttaskviewid31Itemid7
  4jumival2065
• Liu, J. (2013). Mobile Communication, Popular
  Protests and Citizenship in China. Modern Asian
  Studies, 47(03), 995-1018. doi
  10.1017/S0026749X12000340
• Liuwenxin, C. (2014, April 8). Taiwan group to
  end China trade protest. China Digital Times.
  Retrieved April 10, 2014, from http//chinadigital
  times.net/2014/04/standoff-taiwan-legislature-clos
  e-resolution/
• Lüsted, M. A. (2011). Tiananmen Square protests.
  Edina, MN ABDO Publishing Company.
• O'Brien, K. J. (2008). Popular protest in China.
  Cambridge, MA Harvard University Press.
• Stratfor Global Intelligence (Producer). (2012,
  July 6). China's Environmental Protests and
  Economic Slowdown (Agenda) Video. Retrieved
  April 11, 2014, from https//www.youtube.com/watch
  ?vccFbDSlB898

20
Sources

• Wasserstrom, J. N. (1991). Student protests in
  twentieth-century China The view from Shanghai.
  Stanford, CA Stanford University Press.
• Wasserstrom, J. N., Perry, E. J. (1994).
  Popular protest and political culture in modern
  China. Boulder, CO Westview Press.
• Xinhua. (2012, November 10). Chinese Government's
  Official Web Portal (China, Ministry of Commerce)
  (Y. Lina, Ed.). Retrieved April 10, 2014, from
  http//www.gov.cn/misc/2012-11/10/content_2261797.
  htm
• Yinan, G., Chun, Y. (Eds.). (2014, April 10).
  Taiwan students withdraw from legislative
  building. People's Daily (China). Retrieved April
  8, 2014, from http//english.peopledaily.com.cn/90
  882/8594942.html
• Zhang, X. (2009). Popular Protest in China
  Reviewed by Xiaodan Zhang Review of book Popular
  Protest in China by K. J. O'Brien. Contemporary
  Sociologiy, 38(6), 560-561. Retrieved April 9,
  2014.