Contemporary Chinese Left?

[Colfax]

I would like to learn more about the Left in China since its turn to a full-throated market economy. Say since the mid-80s. Where would you suggest I begin? I am particularly curious about the Left since Tiananmen Square and its current ideology and organizational practices.

[islandmilitia]

These two articles - The Post-Mao Chinese Left: Navigating Recent Debates (http://sanhati.com/excerpted/3894/) and A Chinese Alternative? Interpreting the Chinese New Left Politically (http://insurgentnotes.com/2010/06/chinese-new-left/) - provide a good introduction to the main trends of thought and arguments within what we might call the contemporary intellectual left in China. If you want a broader look at China's intellectual history since 1978, including the specific genealogy of the term New Left, you might also look at this interview with Wang Hui from New Left Review, Fire at the Castle Gate (http://newleftreview.org/II/6/hui-wang-fire-at-the-castle-gate). One of the main points put forward in the Sanhati article in particular is that many of those who are identified with the left remain ideologically tied to the Chinese state, insofar as they look to the state itself as the main initiator of a change in China, and believe that this will come about through a change in party-state leadership, rather than through radical forms of social and political transformation under the leadership of the working class. Utopia, which is a web forum and bookshop in Beijing, is highly representative of this trend, although the website itself has been down since earlier this year. The importance of this ideological commitment to the ruling state system became very important earlier this year with the fall of Bo Xilai from power, which is what actually led to utopia being shut down, in that there were many posters on the forum, for example, who had looked to Bo and his policies in Chongqing as a real example of change coming from within the confines of the state itself, to the point where some pro-CPC leftists described Chongqing as a "liberated zone" or "new Yan'an", in reference to the party's wartime strategy of building up base areas in the border regions.

On that basis, I think we can argue that the most important task for the main body of the Chinese left is to break away from its current faith in the state system and to think about how alternative forms of state power are going to come about through struggle, which will mean looking at events such as the Wukan uprising and the different forms of mass struggle that are taking place in China today. Whilst base in Hong Kong, the CWI site China Worker (http://chinaworker.info/) is, I think, currently the best source of radical (Trotskyist) analysis on Chinese politics today.

[theblackmask]

Me, A Dissident? No Thanks (http://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/various-authors-me-a-dissident-no-thanks-interview-with-a-chinese-rebel) is a neat little interview with someone who was active in the Cultural Revolution.

[Paul Cockshott]

Enfu Cheng gave a good running on it in a talk I heard will see if it is up in translation

[Leo]

This might be of interest: http://internationalist.webs.com/

[Colfax]

The Insurgent Notes article was splendid. I have a lot to explore here.

Clearly statistics are rather hard to come by in a place like China. As far as controversial matters go anyway. But reading these different pieces, I find myself profoundly curious about the strength on the ground of such movements. Is there any way to tell beyond simple anecdote?

[theblackmask]

I just read this and it was very informative of what's going on in China right now - China in Revolt (http://jacobinmag.com/2012/08/china-in-revolt/)

[jookyle]

I know someone who moved to here(America) from China, and he said, "There are more people in jail cells for being a communist then there are communists in the communist party"

[GoddessCleoLover]

It is encouraging to read of strikes and other militant actions by Chinese workers. I would imagine that political activity by Chinese Leftists in support of worker militancy would indeed be likely to lead to a prison cell or labor camp. Seem to recall that there been instances of Chinese Leftists fleeing the PRC to avoid political repression.

[Crux]

These two articles - The Post-Mao Chinese Left: Navigating Recent Debates (http://sanhati.com/excerpted/3894/) and A Chinese Alternative? Interpreting the Chinese New Left Politically (http://insurgentnotes.com/2010/06/chinese-new-left/) - provide a good introduction to the main trends of thought and arguments within what we might call the contemporary intellectual left in China. If you want a broader look at China's intellectual history since 1978, including the specific genealogy of the term New Left, you might also look at this interview with Wang Hui from New Left Review, Fire at the Castle Gate (http://newleftreview.org/II/6/hui-wang-fire-at-the-castle-gate). One of the main points put forward in the Sanhati article in particular is that many of those who are identified with the left remain ideologically tied to the Chinese state, insofar as they look to the state itself as the main initiator of a change in China, and believe that this will come about through a change in party-state leadership, rather than through radical forms of social and political transformation under the leadership of the working class. Utopia, which is a web forum and bookshop in Beijing, is highly representative of this trend, although the website itself has been down since earlier this year. The importance of this ideological commitment to the ruling state system became very important earlier this year with the fall of Bo Xilai from power, which is what actually led to utopia being shut down, in that there were many posters on the forum, for example, who had looked to Bo and his policies in Chongqing as a real example of change coming from within the confines of the state itself, to the point where some pro-CPC leftists described Chongqing as a "liberated zone" or "new Yan'an", in reference to the party's wartime strategy of building up base areas in the border regions.

On that basis, I think we can argue that the most important task for the main body of the Chinese left is to break away from its current faith in the state system and to think about how alternative forms of state power are going to come about through struggle, which will mean looking at events such as the Wukan uprising and the different forms of mass struggle that are taking place in China today. Whilst base in Hong Kong, the CWI site China Worker (http://chinaworker.info/) is, I think, currently the best source of radical (Trotskyist) analysis on Chinese politics today.
After the fall of Bo Xilai this is also true of the main Neo-Maoist/New Left websites as well, Utopia and Maoflag as they have been banned permanently being seen as allies of Bo. Chinaworker does have supporters in mainland China though, and like Gramsci Guy alludes to, the reason this is now official is because we had to get one of our comrades out of there (http://chinaworker.info/en/content/news/1710/).

[Sheepy]

I know someone who moved to here(America) from China, and he said, "There are more people in jail cells for being a communist then there are communists in the communist party"

I also recently read about Libertarian Socialist/Anarcho-Socialist movements in China, but expectantly they're all repressed by the government so a lot of them are really underground along with all the other labor movements.