In Search of Civil Society

Between the Party and the People, civil society — understood as ‘the field of civil, organized, social life which is voluntary, self-sufficient and independent from the State’1 — acts as a dynamic intermediary, data transmission system and shock absorber. China does not operate an authoritarian government system but rather, is totalitarian. Whether the Party-State is more flexible does not change its basic nature. Public freedoms are monitored the same way as the planning system is in the economic field; the more strategic the area, the more controlled it becomes. As long as the Party-State is not directly challenged, the government is largely accommodating but, should it feel its power challenged, it is uncompromising. Elections can be demanded, but not a multi-party system; there are some limited freedoms of speech, but no right of association. Censorship is omnipresent, even though it may be applied in a more flexible and (sometimes) clever way. Books are allowed but confidential essays are not, if the Party doctrine is questioned. Movies critical of the State or Chinese society are forbidden in China but permitted abroad. An artist who uses his reputation to support dissidents will be sued under whatever pretext (corruption, tax fraud) and his passport withdrawn.