Why is Establishing Democracy so Difficult in China: The Challenge of China’s National Identity Question

He, Baogang

Abstract

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Why is Establishing Democracy so Difficult in China: The Challenge of China’s National Identity Question

Baogang He

Deakin University

March 28, 2012

Contemporary Chinese Thought, Vol. 35, No. 1, pp. 71–92, Fall 2003

Abstract:
China now faces a national identity problem, that is, sections of the national population do not identify with the Chinese nation-state in which they live. Tibetans, for example, endeavor to create their own political identity through the reconstruction of a Tibetan cultural and ethnic identity. China’s national identity problem also involves the question of reunification with Taiwan. In Taiwan, both the Guomindang (GMD) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) governments have refused to reunify with China. The question of Taiwan and Tibet are different cases and require different treatment,1 but Beijing’s response to the two questions - refusing to adopt a democratic approach - is the same.

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Date posted: March 28, 2012

Suggested Citation

He, Baogang, Why is Establishing Democracy so Difficult in China: The Challenge of China’s National Identity Question (March 28, 2012). Contemporary Chinese Thought, Vol. 35, No. 1, pp. 71–92, Fall 2003. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2030103

Contact Information

Baogang He (Contact Author)

Deakin University ( email )

School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Geelong, Victoria 3217
Australia