The remarkable events of April and May 1989 revealed the degree to which civil society has reemerged in Communist China. The ruthless campaign of suppression that began on June 4 revealed in turn the degree to which the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) remains unwilling and unable to accept the reality of nascent civil society in China.
About the Author
Thomas B. Gold is associate professor of sociology and vice-chair of the Center for Chinese Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. He was the first official American exchange student at Fudan University in Shanghai (1979–80) and visits China frequently for seminars and to conduct research. Professor Gold is the author of State and Society in the Taiwan Miracle (1986). A longer version of this essay will appear in a volume on China at Forty to be published by the Institute of East Asian Studies at the University of California.
Evidence from social science and history suggests that China is entering a “transition zone” that will threaten its capacity to maintain both authoritarian rule and high levels of economic growth.
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