China's Long March to Freedom: Grassroots Modernization

by Kate Zhou (Editor)

Overview

China is more than a socialist market economy led by ever more reform-minded leaders. It is a country whose people seek liberty on a daily basis. Th eir success has been phenomenal, despite the fact that China continues to be governed by a single party. Clear distinctions between the people and the government are emerging, underlining the fact that true liberalization cannot be imposed from above.Although a large percentage of the Chinese people have been part of China's long march to freedom, farmers, entrepreneurs, migrants, Chinese gays, sex pleasure seekers, and black-marketers played a particularly important role in the beginning. Lawyers, scholars, journalists, and rights activists have jumped in more recently to ensure that liberalization continues. Social dissatisfaction with the government is now published in the media, addressed in public forums, and deliberated in courtrooms. Intellectuals devoted to improvement in human rights and continued liberalization are part of the process.This grassroots social revolution has also resulted from the explosion of information available to ordinary people (especially via the Internet) and far-reaching international influences. All have fundamentally altered key elements of the moral and material content of China's party-state regime and society at large. Th is social revolution is moving China towards a more liberal society despite its government. The Chinese government reacts, rather than leads, in this transformative process. Th is book is a landmark—a decade in the making.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781138508125
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	10/06/2017
Pages:	391
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

Foreword, Acknowledgements, Introduction, 1. The Right to Be Let Alone: The Grassroots Decollectivization Movement and Baochan Daohu, 2. Struggling to Move Freely, 3. The Chinese Entrepreneur: Challenging the Status Quo, 4. Capitalism with Chinese Characteristics and the Basis of Civil Society, 5. Information Wants to Be Free, 6. Sexual Revolution in China, 7. Global Trade, Foreign Influence, and the Effects of Globalization, Conclusion, Bibliography, Index

Editorial Reviews

"Zhou's solid, important study is optimistic...Highly recommended." –M.G. Roskin, Choice "Based on her long personal involvement in grass-roots social organizations in China, Kate Zhou advances a novel view of China's long-term political evolution. In this provocative new book, she suggests that routine, everyday resistance on the part of millions of ordinary Chinese citizens to the rigid dictates and policies of the Communist party-state is creating a dramatically expanded sphere of individual freedom and autonomy in China. In her view, political liberalization will emerge through constant, unremitting social pressures from below, rather than episodic, elite-sponsored initiatives from above. Zhou's thesis is highly original; and it is sure to prove controversial among scholars of Chinese society and politics." –Richard Baum, UCLA, Author of China Watcher: Confessions of a Peking Tom "A fascinating study about the fundamental transformation taking place in the most populous country on earth—China is experiencing a social revolution towards a more liberal society. Only a scholar who is truly bi-culture can provide such insightful account and answer such critical question: how and why do societies liberalize. A welcome addition and a must read for those concerned for people's real life in China and its future directions." –Quansheng Zhao, American University "Western China-watchers—in government, in the media, in academe, and even in human rights work—tend to use the word 'China' when in fact they are speaking only of the policies of the government. This is a mistake, and China's Long March to Freedom is the best possible corrective for it. Kate Zhou listens to the Chinese people in all their splendid variety, and what she finds makes the official version of China seem a bit superficial." –Perry Link, University of California, Riverside "China's Long March to Freedom tells of a country where people seek liberty on a daily basis - and have been largely successful, despite the country's control by a single party. Differences between people and government are emerging, and Chinese across the board have participated in a grassroots movement powerful in its revolutionary force. Any library considering Chinese history and cultural influences needs this." –California Bookwatch

From the Publisher