A clear suggestion of a future source of trouble came when educated youths in Beijing overtly held rallies to protest the way police mishandled the investigation of the rape and murder of a local student. Although this movement ended quickly and without incident, the fact that it occurred may be enough to make the regime regret its decision in 1999 to uncork the bottle and provoke, after a decade of dormancy, the unpredictable genie of student activism.
These observations are certainly not proof that the regime is on its last legs. They do suggest, however, that significant elements are in place for the rise of movements that could seriously threaten the state's authority. All that is missing is a common thread to unite people from varying classes with divergent concerns and protest skills which have been evinced again and again throughout the past century.
We should remember -- as China's leaders do -- that disgust with official corruption has often served as a unifying force. It galvanized protesters in the late 1940s and again in 1989 (when the communists faced their last major protest movement).
Thus, despite high economic growth rates, China's leaders cannot rest easy. They are aware that many citizens view the Communist Party as riddled by corruption, and they fear unpredictable and uncontrollable protests will once again end up shaping Chinese history in this new century -- as it did in the last.
Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom teaches Chinese history at Indiana University.
Copyright: Project Syndicate
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