I have had a number of interesting conversations about the political situation here. I think most Americans do not have a very accurate view of the Chinese political system. While I only have gathered a few weeks worth of impressions, here are my thoughts.
First, most Americans know China is ruled by the Chinese Communist Party, the only legal party in the country. But it is important to realize that this party is communist in name only. The party says its political stance is “Socialism with Chinese Characteristics”, but socialism is actually very limited. While there are still some artifacts of socialism (e.g. you cannot own land in China, you can only own buildings and you lease land from the government), free-market capitalism governs the country maybe even more than in the US, especially in the wealthy eastern portion of the country. I think most Americans falsely associate the Chinese style of government with Soviet Communism which it most definitely is not.
Within the local population, the political sentiments are also much more disparate than I once thought.
There seems to be a portion of the population who believes that have a strong, one-party government system is very important and has led directly to China’s growth. India is an oft used example of where democracy has largely failed to effectively run an emerging economy with many similar characteristics to China. Looking at China’s incredibly well managed expansion, the development evidenced at the Shanghai Urban Planning Museum, and China’s rising global influence, this position seems to have some merit.
[As an aside, the recent book, The J Curve, might agree with this stance. It was written largely about democracy in the Middle East, but its point could be applied elsewhere. It can also be summarized in two sentences. If you plotted the benefit / effectiveness of democracy on the x-axis and a country’s level of development on the y-axis, that chart would look like a J. Since the plot is curved, that suggests democracy can actually have a negative (though short-term) effect on a country if it is still in an early stage of development.]
There also seems to be a portion of the population who is frustrated less by lack of freedom of the one-party system but more by the ineffectiveness of the government at providing some public services. This would include the poor healthcare system, grinding pollution, water shortages, etc. They might prefer a multi-party system, but more because it might be more effective in improving bureaucratic processes and enforcing political accountability.
At least some portion of the population here resents the government intrusion into every day life. This includes everything from blocking websites, to limiting personal freedoms, to enforcing the one family-one child policy. This group is most interested in political freedom and democracy. While China has radically evolved economically over the last 20 years, politically the country has evolved hardly at all, and there are consistent calls for more open political choice.
This last group – which I think is the view that Americans expect all Chinese have – seems smaller, less passionate, and more frustrated than I expected. I also think this group is also fairly hopeless that meaningful change will occur.
Finally, one of the biggest political surprises I have seen is how un-powerful the Central Government here actually is. Yes, it may be able to control the weather, police the internet, and suppress political choice. In major issues that are truly important to the Central Government, central politics is unbelievably important. But almost all the time, the real power in China is in the hands of the local and provincial governments.
The local party officials who run the jails (and make prisoners play video games to earn money for themselves), take bribes from local factory owners, grant or deny building permits, and manage most of the day to day affairs of the country are extremely powerful. They are the authorities who bulldoze through poor areas to make room for new high tech development centers. They have the tightest grip on the one-party system and the most to lose if the system changes.
I think few Americans have a good understanding of this complexity between local and central Chinese political authorities.
First, most Americans know China is ruled by the Chinese Communist Party, the only legal party in the country. But it is important to realize that this party is communist in name only. The party says its political stance is “Socialism with Chinese Characteristics”, but socialism is actually very limited. While there are still some artifacts of socialism (e.g. you cannot own land in China, you can only own buildings and you lease land from the government), free-market capitalism governs the country maybe even more than in the US, especially in the wealthy eastern portion of the country. I think most Americans falsely associate the Chinese style of government with Soviet Communism which it most definitely is not.
Within the local population, the political sentiments are also much more disparate than I once thought.
There seems to be a portion of the population who believes that have a strong, one-party government system is very important and has led directly to China’s growth. India is an oft used example of where democracy has largely failed to effectively run an emerging economy with many similar characteristics to China. Looking at China’s incredibly well managed expansion, the development evidenced at the Shanghai Urban Planning Museum, and China’s rising global influence, this position seems to have some merit.
[As an aside, the recent book, The J Curve, might agree with this stance. It was written largely about democracy in the Middle East, but its point could be applied elsewhere. It can also be summarized in two sentences. If you plotted the benefit / effectiveness of democracy on the x-axis and a country’s level of development on the y-axis, that chart would look like a J. Since the plot is curved, that suggests democracy can actually have a negative (though short-term) effect on a country if it is still in an early stage of development.]
There also seems to be a portion of the population who is frustrated less by lack of freedom of the one-party system but more by the ineffectiveness of the government at providing some public services. This would include the poor healthcare system, grinding pollution, water shortages, etc. They might prefer a multi-party system, but more because it might be more effective in improving bureaucratic processes and enforcing political accountability.
At least some portion of the population here resents the government intrusion into every day life. This includes everything from blocking websites, to limiting personal freedoms, to enforcing the one family-one child policy. This group is most interested in political freedom and democracy. While China has radically evolved economically over the last 20 years, politically the country has evolved hardly at all, and there are consistent calls for more open political choice.
This last group – which I think is the view that Americans expect all Chinese have – seems smaller, less passionate, and more frustrated than I expected. I also think this group is also fairly hopeless that meaningful change will occur.
Finally, one of the biggest political surprises I have seen is how un-powerful the Central Government here actually is. Yes, it may be able to control the weather, police the internet, and suppress political choice. In major issues that are truly important to the Central Government, central politics is unbelievably important. But almost all the time, the real power in China is in the hands of the local and provincial governments.
The local party officials who run the jails (and make prisoners play video games to earn money for themselves), take bribes from local factory owners, grant or deny building permits, and manage most of the day to day affairs of the country are extremely powerful. They are the authorities who bulldoze through poor areas to make room for new high tech development centers. They have the tightest grip on the one-party system and the most to lose if the system changes.
I think few Americans have a good understanding of this complexity between local and central Chinese political authorities.
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