Communism in China

China is one of today’s communist societies. The society is classless and there is no private property. The Chinese Communist Party has placed many limitations on the rights of their citizens.

The Communist Party of China began in 1921 under the rule of Mao Zedong. In 1947, Mao Zedong lead a revolution which allowed communism to gain power in China. At first, they followed the ideas of the Soviet Union as they developed their industry at the cost of peasants. Eventually, China developed their own form of communism called Maoism. There were limited rights which eventually lead to an improved constitution. The constitution included more rights for citizens, such as freedom of press and speech. However, the Chinese government failed to follow these laws and continued to place strict limitations on individuals (Chu et al).

In China, women have limited rights. Various forms of sexual harassment are “normal” and are rarely questioned. In 2013 in public transport, a woman faced an elderly man exposing himself to her and when she contacted authorities, they condoned his indecent behavior because he was senile (Hilton). In 2015, on the eve of International Women’s Day, a group of five feminists were detained by government officials as they protested against sexual harassment. Their protest was viewed as “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” but were later released on bail and are still considered suspects (Zeng).

From 1979 to 2015, couples in China were limited to only having one child. This rule was introduced to slow the growth of the population. The government began enforcing birth control and even forced some women to have abortions (Fincher). As a result of the policy, there were increased gender biases. There is a cultural preference toward males therefore, many Chinese couples decided to abort female fetuses (Connett). This ban has been lifted due to a falling birth rate. The government is not encouraging the birth of more children and some provinces are making it more difficult to get an abortion or get divorced (Myers and Mitchell Ryan).

China also places many limitations on religious freedom. The state only recognizes five religions which include Buddhism, Catholicism, Daoism, Islam, and Protestantism. Other religions are banned (Albert). Any other religious group is considered an “evil cult” and can even receive criminal punishments (World Report 2015: China). The Zhejiang province is considered the center of religion in China and in 2013, many churches were demolished. Crosses and buildings were torn down in a government attempt to remove “illegal structures.” Members of the Sanjiang church refused to allow their crosses to be removed. A group of church leaders were then arrested and detained for 20 hours (Pedroletti).

The disabled were discriminated against and faced many restrictions under China’s government. A person with a disability was called canfei, which translates to “the handicapped and useless.” Even though the handicapped now have laws protecting them, the majority of them live in poverty. In addition to living in poverty, students with disabilities are usually denied an education. Most universities in China require a physical exam and are allowed to reject students simply because they have a disability. Some colleges even expect higher score on entrance exams from a disabled individual than what is normally required for admission (Wang).

The internet is heavily monitored and censored by the Chinese government. Foreign websites such as Google and Facebook are banned. Other websites are edited by government approved officials. In order to gain access to websites from overseas, individuals are required to use VPNs. As a result, officials have targeted VPNs to gain control of online media (Ming and Choudhury). China’s president, Xi Jinping wants the online world to reflect the real world. They must have the same principles and practices. Xi also wants foreign content banned because the western influences are against their principles (Economy).

China’s Communist Party has placed many limitations on individuals. The limitations affect different aspects of a person’s life, such as religion and family planning. Failing to follow these restrictions can lead to serious consequences.

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