Protests in China have been (mostly) suppressed, but the point is, they continue abroad

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This article explores the latest developments in the movement in China, as well as news of the participation of the Solidarity Demonstration Movement and the International Socialist Path ISA around the world.

Elan Axelbank Socialist Alternative (ISA England, Wales and Scotland)

In late November, unprecedented mass protests broke out in about 20 cities and more than 80 universities in China. The protest movement has plunged Xi Jinping's regime into a state of near-panic. For now, the CCP dictatorship and its state security apparatus appear to have succeeded in suppressing the protest movement, but Chinese society will not go back to the way it was before.

Small regional protest movements against lockdowns, environmental pollution or official corruption have not been uncommon in China in recent years, but such messages have been heavily censored. What is different about this latest wave of protests is that this time they are nationwide and some have made political demands about democratic rights and opposition to dictatorships. The protesters demanded an end to the "zero policy" and advocated for freedom of speech, press and assembly. Slogans against Xi Jinping and the CCP appeared in Shanghai and some universities. Such slogans have been chanted in public since the 1989 mass movement. Such acts are considered "subversion of state power" and can be punished with years in prison.

Protests have gone downhill, if only temporarily, partly because of state repression, but also because of a murderous police state and a ban on trade unions that prevents the Chinese working class from organizing in any way. Consequently, all struggles tend to be sudden, spontaneous and unplanned. In China, strikes are rarely organized; more often than not, strikes "break out" when workers are mutilated and deceived beyond endurance.

However, the protests have not all stopped. Since then, there have been many protests by migrant workers in Guangdong, as well as a protest movement at Nanjing University. Students at Nanjing University protested when their campus was suddenly put back on lockdown days after it was lifted. This process is likely to repeat itself across China in the coming months. The question now is not if protests will return, but when.

What will happen to the zeroing policy?

Over the weekend, China's largest cities announced an easing of lockdowns. Some cities have removed the requirement to show negative nucleic acid test results to ride public transport, and in Beijing, some apartment buildings say residents can self-quarantine at home, rather than in concentration camps (fangcang cabin hospitals), often described as worse than prisons. in isolation.

It is worth noting that Xi Jinping himself has not made any statements (except private remarks to visiting European Council President Michel) on the "zero policy" or the opening of the blockade, let alone publicly acknowledged the occurrence of the protest movement. Local officials were empowered to push through these policy changes precisely to protect Xi, who cannot be seen as “backtracking” on the major policies of the past three years, but there is no doubt that these local officials have the dictator’s permission. Although overseas media portrayed these moves as a complete withdrawal of the zero-clearing policy, in fact it was only a partial loosening, and it is not ruled out that the zero-clearing policy may be implemented again in the future. Currently, 450 million people in China are living in some form of lockdown, down from 528 million a week ago.

This change is far from representing a "concession" of the entire dictatorship. What it shows is that for Xi Jinping, compared with the most overt resistance to the CCP regime in 30 years, let the new crown virus rage, and even threaten to kill hundreds of thousands of people. deaths (or, as some experts point out, as many as 2 million deaths) are relatively acceptable. This reflects how fearful and unconfident the CCP regime is, especially as China sinks deeper into an economic crisis (Capital Economics predicts China's real GDP growth will be -1% in 2022), and confirms what we said on October 20 Da Qianqian said: "The CCP regime is getting weaker and weaker, not stronger."

Now, the liberalization of the "zero-clearing policy" has brought a series of new problems to Chinese society, which clearly shows the limitations of the "reform" of the authoritarian capitalist system, and clearly leads to the issue of comprehensive system change. Ordinary people will be extremely relieved to be able to move around more freely outside, take the subway, and participate in more social activities, but there are also doubts that the announced lifting measures will actually be implemented. However, due to the rapid deterioration of the current domestic epidemic situation, domestic vaccines are not as effective as vaccines from Western countries, but Western vaccines are banned from being imported into China, and the vaccination rate of the elderly is extremely low (only 40% of people over 80 years old are fully vaccinated), Coupled with a severe shortage of intensive care unit (ICU) beds, it is entirely possible that China will experience a surge in new crown deaths in winter, as Hong Kong did earlier this year. Scientists and COVID-19 experts estimate that between 1.5 million and 2 million people could die across the country if the zero-out policy is lifted across the board, while others say the toll could be much higher.

In the absence of a backup plan, the CCP regime will oscillate roughly from lockdown to partial liberalization and back to lockdown as the highly contagious Omicron variant spreads. But in the new period kicked off by recent protests, it has become increasingly difficult for authorities to enforce a sweeping and prolonged lockdown like the one in Urumqi that lasted more than 100 days. Students at Nanjing University of Technology warned the government, with one yelling at a university representative: "If you touch us, you will become the second Foxconn!"

For this reason, the ISA branch in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan advocates that in addition to ending the zero-clearing policy, a large amount of resources should also be allocated to establish and strengthen the medical system, especially to strengthen the vaccination program among the elderly, and immediately revoke the ban on foreign mRNA vaccines . Pharmaceutical companies and nucleic acid testing companies with huge profits must be democratized and publicized without compensation, and a large amount of resources from these companies must be invested in the public hospital system.

However, the CCP, which is actually the largest capitalist regime in the world, will never take this action. These changes will pose a fundamental threat to the maximization of capital profits. And, as far as the ban on foreign vaccines is concerned, for Xi to lift the ban would mean humiliation and a forced admission that his country is not technologically advanced, as he needs to emphasize his country’s strength as the new Cold War deepens. Dictatorships can never pass into history through reforms. The CCP must be overthrown and replaced by a democratic socialist system where the working class controls society and the democratic rights of all are guaranteed. No serious change is possible on the basis of capitalism, which in China and much of Asia needs an authoritarian system to guarantee its rule.

Building a movement outside of China is crucial

Fighting back against the brutal exploitation and oppression under Chinese capitalism and its Orwellian dictatorship inside China can be extremely difficult and dangerous. Immediately after the wave of protests in the last weekend of November, the authorities flooded the protesters with phone calls and text messages - thanks to surveillance cameras and authorities tracking mobile phones, the police already knew the identities of the protesters and their participation in the protests, and warned They will not participate in the future. Shortly before the latest wave of protests erupted, the ISA held a demonstration outside the Chinese embassy in London in solidarity with imprisoned socialist activist Chai Xiaoming and demanded the release of all Chinese political prisoners. Just a week later, a protest 20 times the size erupted in the same location.

But for Chinese citizens living outside of China, speaking out against the Communist Party's authoritarian regime is not without its dangers. There have been numerous reports of Chinese students studying abroad who participated in a moment of silence for the victims of the Urumqi fire and in solidarity with the recent protests, and their families in China were subsequently visited by police. The sheer size of the CCP’s advanced surveillance system and network of spies and agents inside and outside of China is absolutely enormous, and reports in recent months have only made that clearer. China is a technological totalitarian state with some of the most advanced surveillance technology in the world (many developed in partnership with American companies). A dictator necessarily needs an extremely tight national security apparatus to maintain power.

At many points in history, the efforts of socialists and activists in exile have been key to the overthrow of authoritarian regimes because of their ability to organize and write political material more freely and secretly smuggle it back home . This was the case with the Socialist Russian Revolution led by Lenin and Trotsky, who spent most of their political careers in exile, and the end of apartheid in South Africa, albeit with less severe repression.

Over the past six months, with the apparent easing of restrictions around the world while those in China remain in place, and now a full-blown economic crisis, Chinese international students have rapidly become politicized and, in some cases, radicalized . At Foxconn, the world's largest iPhone factory, workers fought back against the lockdown, unsafe working conditions and wages stolen by capitalists, kicking off the latest movement, which has been widely spread by student groups following the fire in Urumqi played a big role. Similarly, in the past week and a half, the international solidarity protests were almost entirely driven by Chinese students studying abroad.

ISA is doing everything we can to help grow this movement. In fact, we organize protests all over the world (like in London), or help build these protests, and then express support and speak out in protests (like in Taipei, New York, Dublin, Boston, etc.). Wherever the ISA is, we are a voice in the necessary discussions and debates about the direction the movement is headed, with the appeals, organization and strategies needed.

China is the world's second most populous country, with the world's second largest economy, and is ruled by the world's most powerful dictatorship. The Chinese working class has great potential. The new cold war between Chinese and American imperialists will intensify all crises in every corner of the world in the coming years, including the threat of expanding military conflicts between imperialists. Building a genuine socialist movement in China is not an option but a necessity for the working class internationally, so the ISA sees it as a top priority.

London

On December 4, outside the Chinese embassy in London, more than 150 people participated in a demonstration co-sponsored by the ISA and student organizations. Nearly 15 people, including members and supporters of the ISA, spoke publicly at the protest.

ISA members from Hong Kong speak at a solidarity rally in London:

“The CCP regime’s brutal zeroing policy is effectively a form of martial law — extreme food shortages, poverty, mental health crises, and unemployment on the one hand, and skyrocketing profits for pharmaceutical companies on the other. Now, the CCP is desperately trying to Show that it is opening up, relaxing the 'clearing' policy. Why? Because in Urumqi and elsewhere, the united protests of Han, Uyghur and other ethnic minorities have created deep fear within the CCP dictatorship. In a In an instant, decades of racist and nationalist propaganda were swept away by a united struggle of the working class...”

“The CCP system can only survive if we are forced to work for it. There is no working class, not a wheel turns, not a phone rings, not a light bulb lights up. Through the strikes and demonstrations of millions of people, we The freedom to speak, to organize, to strike and to vote can be won... We know that this fight needs to organize. A successful fight needs trade unions and revolutionary parties - that is the lesson of all democratic revolutions. We want democracy, we want feminism, That means we want real socialism. If you're interested in these ideas, you can read more in our banned underground magazine, The Socialist."

ISA members from the US speak at a solidarity rally in London:

"China and the West, led by the United States, are locked in a battle for survival to become the greatest global hegemony. But the working class will not choose sides in such an imperialist conflict...Whether you are the Chinese working class, the American working class, Or the working class elsewhere - we must stand together against those who push us into war, economic crisis, and divisions by race, ethnicity, or gender...that's why I'm here today. As an American, but More importantly, as a socialist. We oppose the CCP dictatorship - not for nationalist motives - but because the regime puts strikers in jail. Because it bans trade unions. These dictatorial policies are To make billionaires like Musk and multinational corporations like Apple richer."

"But this dictatorship is not going to overthrow itself. Never before in history has a dictatorship done that... Protest movements will rise again, whether in a week, a month, six months or a year. When protests revive — — We will need clearer demands, better organization, and strategies to win... The movement will need independent trade unions, independent student unions. It will need workers' strikes and student strikes - our most powerful weapons - to Escalation. It will require the development of underground committees to coordinate, strategize and organize the movement. It will also require discussion and debate on the way forward. The ISA is ready to do everything we can to help this movement win."

Twenty-seven participants purchased our just-published Chinese-language special issue of The Socialist, which includes a review of the protests to date and advice on the movement, as well as a broader analysis of Chinese society, including economics, politics and class struggle. Another 8 people bought our English magazine, raising a total of nearly £200 to support the work of our China, Hong Kong and Taiwan branches. There are more demonstrations in London this weekend for which the ISA is mobilizing.

Taipei

Some people in Taiwan also launched actions to support the protests across the strait. Last weekend, 100 people took part in a demonstration in Taipei. An ISA member gave a speech and accepted a live interview with NTDTV. ISA is the only left-wing organization with a clear appeal. More than 30 people bought our Chinese magazine, and we raised NT$3,600 for our work in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

New York City

New York City has a sizable Chinese population. ISA members helped set up the action and spoke at a protest of solidarity last weekend in Manhattan's crowded Washington Square Park, where 200 people turned out. Our New York City chapter reported that many participants had some level of support for capitalism and American and Western imperialism. One of the sponsoring organizations is the China Democracy Party, a conservative, pro-capitalist group of Chinese expats living in the United States but with no organizational base inside China.

Although the political affiliations of protest participants varied, many participants (especially the youngest participants and students) were open to Marxist ideas. The ISA was the only socialist organization present, which drew attention to our booth and politics. A member of the ISA took the floor, reading a statement from a comrade in China. Similar to when we participate in other protests, we need to clarify what we mean by "socialism". Our socialism has nothing in common with the "socialism with Chinese characteristics" (actually capitalism) of the CCP dictatorship, nor is it different from the idea of trying to "reform" the CCP in order to achieve a "softer" dictatorship. This is clearly not the direction the CCP is headed under Xi Jinping. The best way to do this is to articulate our aspirations and broader platform for Chinese society and class struggle. More details can be found at China Worker Forum (chinaworker.info).

ISA members in New York City sold 11 Chinese-language magazines, raising $100, and some expressed interest in getting involved with the ISA. This shows that socialists everywhere can help build this fight.

join us!

These are just some of the demonstrations ISA has participated in since the outbreak of protests in China. After the upcoming weekend, the list of demonstrations we participated in will be doubled or even more.

The CCP dictatorship is in a historic crisis. Or rather, every decision they make is wrong, because every "solution" they try to formulate only creates new crises in turn. The protests have subsided so far, but the shouts of "Communist Party step down!" and "Xi Jinping step down!" are hard to stop. To prepare for a new wave of protests, we must learn lessons from historical struggles against dictatorships, as well as more recent ones such as the Hong Kong movement in 2019.

Spontaneous protests can erupt suddenly, but without clear demands and organization, their permanence is always limited. There must be a clear strategy to win through massive, coordinated strikes based on the strength of the working class, using independent unions and student unions. Underground committees must be created to coordinate, strategize and develop the struggle. We must clearly realize that it is impossible to reform the CCP, it is not "communist" at all, but a capitalist dictatorship, and this system needs to be replaced with a democratic workers' government and true socialism. All those who support us, whether they are Chinese or not, whether they live in China or not, please join the ISA (see chinaworker.info for the China, Hong Kong and Taiwan branch website) and help us build this historic and necessary struggle.