China Change » Political Transition

Beijing Observation: Xi Jinping Unsheathes the Shangfang Sword

And points it in two directions. By Gao Yu, published: September 6, 2013 According to Xinhua reports last year and this year, it looks like the CCP’s Beidaihe enclave now has a fixed calendar. Last year, the start of the enclave was marked by the leader-to-be Xi Jinping meeting with experts and grassroots talent vacationing at the s [...] Keep reading »

The Confessions of a Reactionary

By Teng Biao, published: August 27, 2013 (The article first appeared in Life and Death in China (a multi-volume anthology of 50+ witness accounts of Chinese government persecution and 30+ essays by experts in human rights in China). When I wrote it, Xu Zhiyong was under house arrest; when it was published, he had already moved to the Beijing Third [...] Keep reading »

Subversion By Way of Laughter

By Hu Ping Published: August 16, 2013 In China, we live in a time of absurdity unparalleled in history. It is particularly so because everyone knows its absurdity and ridiculousness, but still carries on nonetheless. This is because China is still a one party dictatorship under the Communist Party. The CCP has committed many atrocities that [...] Keep reading »

Civil Disobedience in Sodom – A Letter to Xu Zhiyong

Guo Yushan, August 10, 2013 That government, powerful as it was, didn’t scare me into doing anything unjust. — Ascribed to Socrates by Plato in The Apology Zhiyong, Congratulations for having been put in jail. I have been worrying that, i [...] Keep reading »

Urban Grid Management and Police State in China: A Brief Overview

By Wu Qiang, published: August 12, 2014 A model for a contemporary police state. Urban grid system is nothing new. In ancient Rome, the grid was the standard layout of military camps. Urban grid planning, from the very beginning, bore the marks of militarized management. In Beijing, the grid-like streets and alleys (hutongs) have a lot of to do wit [...] Keep reading »

Xu Zhiyong’s “Talks” with Beijing’s Public Security Chief Three Weeks before His Detention (3)

On Friday, July 19, a text circulated on QQ that is a record of Xu Zhiyong’s “talks” with a top official of the Beijing Public Security Bureau that occurred on June 25, 26 and 28. Its authenticity has since been confirmed by Xu’s close associates. ChinaChange.org is providing a complete translation of the text in three installments. This i [...] Keep reading »

Xu Zhiyong’s “Talks” with Beijing’s Public Security Chief Three Weeks before His Detention (2)

Xu Zhiyong’s “Talks” with Beijing’s Public Security Chief Three Weeks before His Detention (1)

Why Is Constitutionalism Impossible Under the CCP?

By Xiaokai Xiang Published: July 8, 2013 The fundamental irreconcilability between constitutionalism and a Leninist political party. Recently, China’s state-owned media has issued a number of articles bombarding constitutionalism, starting a war of words. Among these, one that is rather weighty is an editorial in the Global Times [...] Keep reading »