ABSTRACT
How does China attempt to shape the political values and attitudes of an increasingly globally connected and cosmopolitan youth? How do they teach young people to be supportive of communist party rule? This chapter explores the role of political education in contemporary China through the lens of the National College Entrance Exam (NCEE), commonly called the Gaokao, a high-stakes examination youth take to matriculate into universities and colleges. Drawing on seven decades of the politics subject-test of NCEE (1951–2022), the chapter illustrates how the CCP authority is claimed and maintained over time, as well as how the examination questions seek to undermine China’s political, economic, and ideological competitors, especially stemming from the West. It demonstrates that the undermining narratives complement the pro-Party message by attempting to instill in young people that there is no viable alternative to communist party rule.
