China Change » Elections

A Beautiful China – Five – Be True to the Law: Campaigning for a Seat as a People’s Congress Delegate

Xu Zhiyong, translated by Joshua Rosenzweig, March 10, 2024 Note From the Editor Born in 1973, Dr. Xu Zhiyong (许志永) is a legal scholar, pioneer of China’s rights defense movement, and a founder of the New Citizens Movement. On April 10, 2023, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison on charges of “subverting state power.” Before this, he [...] Keep reading »

Explaining China’s ‘People’s Congress’ Through the Tales of Three: A Hand-raising Automaton, An Independent Candidate, and An Electoral Activist

Teng Biao, March 12, 2019 As the Communist Party held this year’s “Two Sessions” (两会), Beijing activist Hu Jia (胡佳) was kept under control by being forcibly moved across the country to Guangdong. Human rights lawyer Tang Jitian (唐吉田) and Xu Zhiyong (许志永), of the New Citizens Movement, received midnight visits in Zhengzhou [...] Keep reading »

The World According to a CCTV Journalist Based in London

Yaxue Cao, November 27, 2016 Ms. Liu Huizhen (刘惠珍) is a villager in the District of Fangshan (房山区), on the southwestern outskirts of Beijing. She’s a victim of forced demolition who fought hard to preserve her property but lost it anyway. This year, she is one of the 70 or so Beijing residents who organized to compete fo [...] Keep reading »

Trump and Xi Jinping Haven’t Spoken, But China Outlines Expectations With Coaxing and Threats

Yaxue Cao, November 13, 2016 On November 9, around 6:30 am EST (7:30 pm in Beijing), Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported that Chinese president Xi Jinping’s had sent the U. S. president-elect Donald Trump a “congratulatory telegram.” A telegram, really? How do you send a telegram to a New York billionaire in 2016? It sound [...] Keep reading »

A Declaration by Yao Lifa and 57 Other Candidates for People’s Representative in Qianjiang City, Hubei Province

November 6, 2016 Mr. Yao Lifa (姚立法) has been an advocate of grassroots elections in China since 1998. – The Editors We live on the lowest rung of society; we yearn for a brighter future. We think that changing the status quo isn’t as arduous as some people make out — because we can vote. We have the right to [...] Keep reading »

For Over 36 Years, Grassroots Elections in China Have Made No Progress – An Interview With Hu Ping

November 1, 2016 Updated on November 17: 5-minute BBC video tells everything you need to know about Chinese elections. Yaxue Cao: This year is also an election year in China, with county- and district-level elections of People’s Representatives on November 15. Independent candidates have sprung up everywhere, and China Change recen [...] Keep reading »

Record Number of Beijing Residents Declare Their Independent Candidacy for Local People’s Congress Seats

China Change, October 22, 2016 “Participation is the simplest, most direct, most realistic, and most effective political action.” — Yao Lifa, 2016 “Actually, the result is not what is most important. What’s most important is to take part. I hope that my participation will tell everyone: Believe in our laws, believe in the progress of this [...] Keep reading »

The Pipe Dream of Independent Candidacy, Once Every Five Long Years

Mo Zhixu, July 1, 2016 2016 is also an election year in China, in case you are not aware of it. A struggle is once again brewing in Wukan. Four years ago, after a protracted struggle during which village representative Xue Jinbo (薛锦波) lost his life under mysterious circumstances in police custody, the people of Wukan were able t [...] Keep reading »

The Transformation of Xiawei Village

By Zhang Jing, published: March 19, 2015 We were in Guangdong during the two weeks before the Chinese New Year, and Xiao Bin, an old classmate of ours, suggested that we make time to visit the village of Xiawei (下围村). “Interesting things” had happened there, he told us. This village known for airing its grievances year afte [...] Keep reading »