[寫作指導] Argumentative Essay 論說文｜比較政府 AP Comparative Government｜研究報告 Political Science Paper｜學生作品 Writing Clinic

指導學生撰寫AP課程、比較政府的報告（Cleavage Presentation），講解Chicago Style的引用法、完善論文寫作的架構、剪裁適當的引用、檢視論點與證據的縝密與呼應程度，最後此報告以92分（滿分100分）的高分得到A-。

Chinese Ideology

Xi Jinping, a 21st-century emperor who promotes fascism, has risen to power in China due to its historical background. China, a country that experienced the Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976 and the Tiananmen Square Protest in 1989 but failed to become a civil, democratic society where people own legal rights to  express freedom of speech without going to extremes, prioritizes social stability above all else. However, the economic changes initiated by Deng Xiaoping in the 1990s transformed China into a major economic powerhouse, with substantial investments in the global market. Consequently, people have leaned toward the government's offered financial security.

These two significant factors have led China to become fertile ground for fascism. Chinese citizens rely on the government to maintain social stability, while the economic prosperity brought by Deng's reforms solidifies their reliance. Since the Chinese government transferred its authority to Xi, a leader who experienced the Cultural Revolution and is committed to long-term stability and economic development, Chinese ideology has shifted away from communism toward economic modernization, now resembling a form of fascism (socialism with Chinese characteristics) under Xi.  

I would like to define the two political beliefs that frequently come up in the paper for the readers. Fascism refers to a political ideology where extreme nationalism takes place. The nation may be characterized by militarism and expansionism. Furthermore, the nation may idealize a leader and allow profit-seeking institutions, as long as the state is ultimately in control. Communism refers to a belief where abolition of private property and a command economy is best for the people. The difference between a facism and a communism is the allowance of private-seeking businesses where facism is fine with these institutions as long as government have the ultimate power whereas communism disallow the existence of private business. Existence of private owned businesses clearly explains why China has moved towards to facism from communism.

Xi appears to strictly follow communism, the core value of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), in addressing the wealth gap resulting from China's open market. However, Xi implements and justifies central control through three approaches: (1) redefining communism in China, (2) earning the trust of individuals who have experienced national unrest, and (3) accelerating another phase of rapid economic development. With the three approaches, Xi has risen to become a 21st-century emperor

Firstly, Xi Jinping has redefined communism during his rule. China has traditionally upheld the idea of communism, involving communal sharing of property and resources. However, Xi has appropriated this idea by choosing to suppress the progress of high-income individuals, moving towards fascism. According to Campbell's report in Time, Mao Zedong, the former CCP leader, advocated for "common prosperity." Nevertheless, Xi has redefined this term to enhance the economic standing of low- and middle-income individuals while restraining the wealthier ones to achieve a specific Chinese-style modernization.^[1]

What exactly does Xi do to the high-income populace? The answer does not involve seizing their wealth but instead involves the CCP legally interfering with their business decisions during State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) reforms. Xi employs various improper measures to control China's businesses. Crawford's "Responding to China’s State of Capitalism" references indicative research by Curtis Milhaupt, the William F. Baxter-Visa International Professor of Law at Stanford Law School, and Lauren Yu-Hsin Lin, an associate professor at City University of Hong Kong School of Law. The research indicates that "75 percent of SOEs require their board of directors to consult with an internal Communist Party committee before making major business decisions. Sixty-six percent allow the committee to nominate directors and senior managers." This evidence shows how China is now allowing profit-seeking institutions, getting into economic modernization. However, most SOEs have to consult with the government before making decisions which further applies to the idea of fascism and how profit from SOEs is allowed as long as the government is ultimately in control. Therefore, China is moving closer to fascism and away from communism through economic reforms.

Furthermore, Xi also managed to earn trust among individuals that experienced national unrest. To justify the extreme control exercised by the CCP, Xi openly emphasizes the necessity for the party to oversee China, connecting it to the maintenance of societal stability. Xi asserted, "Why can China maintain long-term stability without chaos? The fundamental reason is that we always adhere to the leadership of the Communist Party. We must further institutionalize and legalize the party’s leadership."^[2] This strong statement emphasized and legalized the control of CCP over China. What’s interesting is this idea is similar to communism as it makes sure the government has the ultimate control over China. However, Xi is advocating for facism ideas because he is using stability as a reason why the government should have more control but not benefiting everyone as a communist would promise.

Xi's persuasion of the Chinese citizens regarding the importance of "long-term stability without chaos"^[3] is rooted in historical experiences. According to Philips' explanation in The Guardian, the Cultural Revolution, led by Mao, severely affected China from 1966 to 1976, instilling a deep-seated belief in the populace that stability and political control in the ruling government are crucial.^[4] As a result, Xi, who was a teenager during the Cultural Revolution, and other middle-aged individuals who now own businesses have gone through political socialization, internalizing the political happenings to further their thinking. That is, since Xi and other people in the similar era know how devastating a national unrest can be, they are inclined to "long-term stability" in any governing circumstances and advocate for government control.^[5]

Last but not least, China is accelerating a new phase of rapid economic reforms. The measures, as per reports from China Briefing and Global Times, have contributed to the growth of the Chinese economy. China Briefing suggests that SOE reforms have led to "the private sector being three times more efficient on average than the state sector and contributing close to two-thirds of China’s GDP growth."^[6] Global Times also reports that China's economic breakthrough can be attributed to SOEs, citing that "net profits were up 2.1 percent to 1.4 trillion yuan ($215.89 billion) in 2020."^[7] Additionally, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC) reported that "[n]early 80 percent of the centrally administered state-owned giants reported year-on-year profit growth."^[8] This alternative perspective represents the significant economic success following Deng's leadership, during which China operated under a supervised free-market system overseen by the government.

These pieces of evidence suggest that Xi's policies have undeniably contributed to China's economic growth. However, does this efficiency make up for the disruption on the free market? Despite Xi steering China toward significant economic growth and employing extreme measures to "make China great again," the issue of veering toward fascism cannot be overlooked. According to Hudson's criticism on Varsity, China has adopted "[a] core facet of fascism"^[9] by "weaponizing capitalism to further the government's authority and interests."^[10] This clearly reflects the problem of Xi’s intervention on the free market. Although it appears that economic reforms are making China more wealthy, the Chinese government is actually using capitalism as a weapon to take more control over these businesses instead of using capitalism to make everyone more wealthy and to distribute wealth more “equally.”  In brief, Xi’s multiple economic policies uses the growing wealth of China to legalize his actions of consolidating more control over the economy.

In support of the Xi government, China has managed to use several policies to assert control over the free market including mandating private businesses to consult with the government before making decisions. Under this guise of societal stability and economic growth, the Chinese government was able to gain more control over the free market as China seems to have moved away from communism toward economic modernization and now display traits of fascism.                                            

 

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^[1] Campbell, Charlie. “Why 'Common Prosperity’ Has China’s Billionaires Running for Cover.” Time, October 9, 2021. https://time.com/6095560/china-common-prosperity/.

^[2] Gao, Charlotte. “Xi: China Must Never Adopt Constitutionalism, Separation of Powers, or Judicial Independence,” The Diplomat, February 19, 2019. https://thediplomat.com/2019/02/xi-china-must-never-adopt-constitutionalism-separation-of-powers-or-judicial-independence/.

^[3] Phillips, Tom. “The Cultural Revolution: All You Need to Know about China’s Political Convulsion.” The Guardian, May 11, 2016. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/11/the-cultural-revolution-50-years-on-all-you-need-to-know-about-chinas-political-convulsion.

^[4] Phillips, Tom. “The Cultural Revolution: All You Need to Know about China’s Political Convulsion.” The Guardian, May 11, 2016. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/11/the-cultural-revolution-50-years-on-all-you-need-to-know-about-chinas-political-convulsion.

^[5] Phillips.

^[6] Preen, Mark. “Economic Reform in China: Current Progress and Future Prospects.” China Briefing, April 3, 2019. https://www.china-briefing.com/news/economic-reform-china-opening-up-future-prospects/.

^[7] GT staff reporters. “Centrally Administered SOEs Remain Backbone of China’s Economy.” Global Times, January 19, 2021. https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202101/1213220.shtml.

^[8] GT staff reporters. 

^[9] Hudson, Sam. “Red Star to Black Sun: China’s Descent into Fascism.” Varsity, June 11, 2021. https://www.varsity.co.uk/opinion/21586.

^[10] Hudson.