Unwritten Endings: Revolutionary Potential of China’s A4 Protest
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1971-8853/16877Keywords:
COVID, China, Protest, youth, internetAbstract
The A4 or White Paper Revolution as dubbed by international media refers to a series of protests against China's draconian Zero-Covid policy that started in November 2022. Although the protests did not last long, they debunked the myth that stringent pandemic measures were widely supported by the Chinese people. Additionally, they revealed the potential for social mobilization in China, regardless of the forceful crackdown on civil society and media censorship by the regime. This paper analyzes how the protests were able to garner support from a wide spectrum of people and circumvent the structural constraints imposed by an increasingly totalitarian regime. It demonstrates that hegemony will never be complete and that resistance is possible even under a “perfect dictatorship”.
References
A. Qi. (2022). Talking to Three White Paper Protesters in Guangzhou: “It’s already a victory when you feel immune from fear.” NGOCN Facebook Page, 5 December. https://ngocn2.org/article/2022-12-05-white-paper-movement-cheng-guang-zhou/?fbclid=IwAR0kPNIKIqXDli0Thbe44K3YiKp5N2rbd3KHazh44U-QShHAj7Hfy9J1Fwc
Buckley, C. (2022). With Intimidation and Surveillance, China Tries to Snuff Out Protests. The New York Times, 29 November. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/29/world/asia/china-protest-covid-security.html
Carlson, B. (2013). 7 Things You Can’t Talk about in China. The World, 3 June. https://theworld.org/stories/2013-06-03/7-things-you-cant-talk-about-china
Castells, M. (2015). Networks of Outrage and Hope. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Chan, K.-m., Qiu, H., & Zhu, J. (2005). Chinese NGOs Strive to Survive. In Y. Bian, K. Chan, & T. Cheung (Eds.), Social Transformations in Chinese Societies, Vol. 1 (pp. 131–159). Leiden: Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789047408932_009
Chan, K.-m., & Zhou, Y. (2014). Political Opportunity and the Anti-dam Movement in China: A Case Study of Nu River. In Z. Hao & S. Chen (Eds.), Social Issues in China: Gender, Ethnicity, Labor, and the Environment. International Perspectives on Social Policy, Administration, and Practice, Vol 1 (pp. 311–330). NY: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-2224-2_17
Chan, K.-m., & Lai, W. (2018). Foundations in China: From Statist to Corporatist. American Behavioral Scientist, 62(13), 1803–1821. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764218773444
Chen, F., & Tang, M. (2013). Labor Conflicts in China: Typologies and Their Implications. Asian Survey, 53(3), 559–583. https://doi.org/10.1525/as.2013.53.3.559
Davidson, H., & Yu, V. (2022). Anti-lockdown protests spread across China amid growing anger at zero-Covid strategy. The Guardian, 27 November. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/27/anti-lockdown-protests-spread-across-china-amid-growing-anger-at-zero-covid-strategy?CMP=share_btn_tw
Feng, X. (2023). Research of Online Discussion Among College Students in Xi’an China in the Context of COVID-19. In Z. Zhan et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 2022 International Conference on Science Education and Art Appreciation (SEAA 2022) (pp. 860–869). Atlantic Press. https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-494069-05-3_105
Huang, K. (2022). “Runology:” How to “Run Away” From China. Council on Foreign Relations, 1 June. https://www.cfr.org/blog/runology-how-run-away-china
Lee, C.K. (2010). Pathways of Labor Activism. In E.J. Perry & M. Selden (Eds.), Chinese Society: Chang, Conflict and Resistance (pp. 57–79). New York: Routledge.
Li, L., & O’Brien, K.J. (1996). Villagers and Popular Resistance in Contemporary China. Modern China, 22(1), 28–61. https://doi.org/10.1177/009770049602200102
Mao, D. (2022). I am in Chengdu: Not Alone in a Long Night. NGOCN Facebbok Page, 29 November. https://ngocn2.org/article/2022-11-29-white-paper-movement-cheng-du/?fbclid=IwAR16LpoRv68jaz8hv98AUmDcttyX1FW63CHYCe51GBRg-ldDzuI58Y-RIgs
McAdam, D. (1982). Political Process and the Development of Black Insurgency, 1930–1970. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.
McCarthy, J., & Zald, M. (1977). Resource Mobilization and Social Movements: A Partial Theory. American Journal of Sociology, 82(6), 1212–1241. https://doi.org/10.1086/226464
Mertha, A. (2009). “Fragmented Authoritarianism 2.0”: Political Pluralization in the Chinese Policy Process. China Quarterly, 200, 995–1012. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305741009990592
Mudie, L. (2015). Two More Chinese Netizens Charged With “Subversion” Over Online Satire. Radio Free Asia, 30 June. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/netizens-06302015140226.html
Pao, T. (2023). From Desk to Street: The Choice under Dual Historical Responsibilities. Mang Mang, 1, 8–13. (info@mangmang.run).
Pun, N. (2005). Made in China. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.
Ringen, S. (2016), The Perfect Dictatorship: China in the 21st Century. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.
Scott, J.C. (1985). Hegemony and Consciousness: Everyday Forms of Ideological Struggle. In Weapons of the Weak: Everyday Forms of Peasant Resistance (pp. 314–322). New Haven: Yale University Press.
Spires, A.J., Tao, L., & Chan, K.-m. (2014). Societal Support for China’s Grassroots NGOs: Evidence from Yunnan, Guangdong, and Beijing. The China Journal, 71, 65–90. https://doi.org/10.1086/674554
Xiang, B. (2010). State Theory of Ordinary People. Lecture series of Guangdong Harmonious Community Foundation, Vol. 1. (2009–2010). Guangzhou, PRC: Faculty of Sociology and Anthropology, Sun Yat-sen University.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Kin-man Chan
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
