From Shenzhen to Shanghai, the rallying cry of the Chinese people can be heard: “Xi Jinping, step down! Communist Party, step down!” It’s clear that many Chinese citizens are fed up with the increasingly-iron-fisted one-party rule they have lived under for decades, but what’s less apparent is how the people of China could wrest the reins of power back from this regime which pervades every aspect of Chinese society. I believe a nonviolent revolution will work in this case.
First, it’s important to note the current state of the Chinese government. China is ruled by a single political party, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which has the sole right to nominate candidates for election. On election day in China, people vote for their CCP-nominated local representatives and those local representatives then elect other CCP-nominated representatives to the National People’s Congress, the legislative arm of China’s national government. It’s these national representatives who elect the General Secretary, the de facto autocrat of China. This system ensures that the CCP never has any surprises–they will never face opposition in the governing of China because they have total control over who’s allowed on the ballot in the first place.
Let’s explore potential avenues for a revolution in China, starting with the concept of a violent revolution. In the past, violent revolutions have often been successful–look no further than Latin America’s liberation from Spanish rule or our breakup with Britannia. They’ve also failed plenty of times, as in the case of the Revolutions of 1848 in Europe or the American Civil War. Population, weaponry, resources, and territory are all deciding factors in whether or not a violent revolution is successful. The Chinese people most certainly have population and territory, but resources and weaponry would be hard to come by. The homogeneity of the Chinese economy means that it would be difficult to stockpile resources, and personal ownership of firearms is outright banned with the exception of certain hunting permits. China’s dominance on the world stage means that few or no countries would be willing to send resources to the rebellion and risk the wrath of the Chinese government. For these reasons, a violent overthrow of the CCP would be nearly impossible.
The alternative is a nonviolent revolution from within. If there’s one thing the CCP cares about, it’s China’s economy, which is on pace to overtake the United States in the next few years. Going on strike might seem like a good option, but many simply won’t have the financial means to go on strike for the long haul. Look no further than the Delano Grape Strike, and you’ll see what happens when people are so impoverished that they have no choice but to play into the hands of the greedy. Many of the immigrants who harvested the grapes simply couldn’t afford to go on strike, and if they were able to strike, the growers could easily replace them with a fresh workforce.
It took a consumer boycott of the product (grapes) for the Delano Grape Strike to finally affect major change to the agricultural industry, and the same thing would need to happen to affect change in the Chinese government. The reason this works is that the workers need income, but the consumers don’t necessarily need to buy all products. By voting with their dollars and boycotting goods produced by companies with ties to the CCP, the people of China and those who purchase Chinese goods globally can influence the political climate in their favor, and eventually affect change at the national level. Yes, it’s slow, but it may be one of the only paths toward a new, liberated China without foreign interference.