China’s Great Leap Backward

This week, Chinese Communist Party leaders are meeting in Beijing for a plenary session centered on one topic: the rule of law. But the crackdown on freedom of speech, assembly, association, and movement now unfolding in China casts doubt on the credibility of the government's commitment to political modernization.

WASHINGTON, DC – This week, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leaders are meeting in Beijing for a plenary session centered on one topic: the rule of law. Yet, in recent days, several groups on WeChat (a popular Chinese social network) have described the arrests of nearly 50 Chinese activists who support the protests in Hong Kong. Others have reported on an official order to ban the publication or sale of books by authors who support the Hong Kong protests, human-rights activism, and the rule of law. This casts serious doubt on the credibility of the government’s commitment to its stated goal of political modernization.

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