~ China's political system
~ Popular protest in China
~ Internet censorship in China
China is now a market economy, but holds on to the communist political system ¨C pollution, corruption and ethnic divisions cause great tensions.
POLITICS They call it "Socialism with Chinese characteristics" but the communist party has a monopoly on power and no opposition is tolerated. There are tensions in regions such as Xinjiang Province where movements for independence have led to violence.
PROTEST In a one-party system the people are the opposition. A major cause of popular protest is land expropriations to build factories. The party says it must listen to these protests ¨C but are they?
FREEDOM OF SPEECH Protests grow against censorship and human rights violations ¨C the authorities try to clamp down but the internet is hard to censor. Says one blogger: "We can hope for a civil society, where people may dare to speak out."
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