ABSTRACT
One of the great enigmas of China’s reform experience is its economic metamorphosis without fundamental political change. The Catholic Church in Poland, the old Democratic Party in Hungary, and alliances of political and environmental activists in East Germany and Bulgaria, were instrumental in pushing for greater political freedom in East and Central Europe. Moreover, over the past years, broad movements of dissatisfied citizens toppled the governments of Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan and Georgia, popularly dubbed the “color revolutions.” However, there is no successful Chinese equivalent for this. In fact, since the end of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, social movements that tried to mobilize the Chinese masses have met a similar fate: suppression and delegitimization. The protesters of the Democracy Wall movement of 1979, the student movement at Tian’anmen Square in 1989,1 the Chinese Democratic Party and Falun Gong Sect of the late 1990s, have without exception been repressed and/or forced into exile.2 For many observers, this demonstrates the weakness of Chinese civil society. In 2005 a renowned columnist noted with disappointment that the lack of a nation-wide demand for political change dashes any hopes for democracy in China.3
