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Kevin Slaten, research lead for the China Dissent Monitor (CDM), explains how the CDM team uncovers dissent activity in China, what this information tells us about economic, social, and political trends there, and why understanding dissent and protest in China is important for people living outside.
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Slaten: CDM is currently the only public database of protest events in China. We have collected and analyzed nearly 14,000 such events since June 2022.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has for many years systematically censored information about protests in China’s media and internet, and it has arrested citizens who attempted to centralize this information into a database [...] Understanding patterns related to the frequency, topics, and locations of dissent provides insight into how China’s economic slowdown affects ordinary people, the efficacy of government policies, and public dissatisfaction with the conduct of government and other officials—as well as systemic injustices and potentially even regime stability.
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The CDM team races every day to document protest activity on China’s social media sites before it is deleted. Depending on the topic and size of the event—and whether it goes viral—some posts may disappear in minutes. Online censorship makes this sort of documentation difficult. Searches for dissent-related terms don’t turn up many results, and protest posts are often restricted, for example.
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Additionally, dissent by some social groups, such as ethnic and religious minorities or activists, is not well represented on Chinese social media because these groups face especially stringent restrictions like closer surveillance by state security.
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Chinese citizens often have some understanding that protests happen, having seen them in internet posts or heard anecdotes through their social networks. But, they may not know the real prevalence or distribution of protests, including in their own cities, much less other regions. This can contribute to the perception that protest is an abnormal or illegitimate way to seek justice, a narrative that the CCP promotes and benefits from.
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More generally, protest events across China have been increasing in the last year, according to CDM’s database. This upward trend is primarily associated with economic grievances, particularly protests by workers, home buyers, and other consumers or investors.
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A lot of the things that prompt dissent in China—from widespread labor rights violations to repression of ethnic minority groups—reflect consequences of the CCP systematically restricting rights like free expression and free association. We can already see the influence of this system expanding beyond China’s borders. For example, the CCP manipulates media in other countries and is the world’s worst perpetrator of transnational repression, when governments reach across borders to intimidate or attack exiles they perceive as a threat. Chinese companies import poor labor practices into the foreign countries where they work. This puts pressure on American companies to compete by lowering their labor standards. Thus CCP abuses can undermine people’s rights everywhere, including in the United States.
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Accurate information about developments in China is increasingly difficult to find as the CCP has restricted access to economic and social data, in addition to suppressing public criticism through its sprawling censorship apparatus. CDM is an alternative source of information which, by documenting protest actions, sheds light on the state of China’s economic, social, and political developments at the grassroots level.
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The CDM is now back online thanks to a tranche of short-term funding. However, without further support, policymakers, businesses, investors, researchers, and others could once again lose access to this uniquely valuable public resource that exposes the social and political developments the CCP tries to hide. To help CDM continue its groundbreaking research, please donate to Freedom House today.
