Under Xi Jinping, the private life of Chinese citizens isn't so private anymore
  Even for a powerful authoritarian state, the speed and extent to which the Communist Party is expanding its reach into private lives in China has caught many off guard.
Since celebrating its centennial with great fanfare in July, the party has imposed a flurry of regulations telling Chinese people, especially the younger generation, how to live their everyday lives.
The sweeping new rules dictate how much time kids can play video games, when and how students can take after-school classes, which entertainers with what type of looks people can watch on TV, and what kind of activities fans can take part in to support their celebrity idols.
These policies have received varying degrees of public support. The tough restrictions limiting minors to three hours of video gaming a week have been applauded by many parents at a loss at how to curb their children's gaming habits. The ban on "effeminate" male celebrities in entertainment shows, meanwhile, has drawn widespread criticism for promoting gender stereotypes and discrimination.
The measures are the latest attempt by President Xi Jinping to reassert the party's dominance in shaping the private lives of Chinese citizens, marking a significant departure from the more hands-off direction Chinese leaders had taken in recent decades.
Personal freedoms have come a long way in China under Communist rule. During Chairman Mao Zedong's tumultuous reign, the revolutionary zeal for collectivism overrode the wishes of the individual, often leading to devastating, deadly consequences. Expression of individualism was all but wiped out during the Cultural Revolution, a dark decade of social upheaval unleashed by Mao in 1966 when thought, speech and even attire were restricted.
After the Cultural Revolution, which ended only with Mao's death in 1976, China pivoted away from "class struggle" and focused on reforming and opening up its economy. As the party dismantled the planned economy and shook up state-owned enterprises, it gradually retreated from the private lives of Chinese people.
Rapid economic growth and growing exposure to the outside world presented many Chinese with a variety of new lifestyle choices. While political control remained stringent, especially after the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989, the party offered an ever-expanding degree of economic and social freedoms in exchange for the absence of political pluralism.
Under Xi, however, that unspoken deal appears to have begun to falter, as the Communist Party seeks to reinsert itself into the center of Chinese life.
Analysts say the party's intrusion into private life has been long in the making, following its tightening grip on virtually every other aspect of Chinese society and the economy in recent years — from clamping down on civil society to reining in the country's tech giants.
The recent policies are heavily tinged with paternalistic overtones and focus primarily on the country's youth, who the party worries have become victims of what it sees as the greedy quest for profits by private companies and the undue influence of Western values.
But unlike Xi and his colleagues born in the Mao era, young people in China today have grown up with an abundance of choices — freedoms that are hard to take away once people have grown accustomed to them.
Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a political science professor at Hong Kong Baptist University and expert on Chinese politics, said if continued, the party's micromanagement of their private lives is likely to "make a lot of enemies" among younger generations.
"At the time of Mao it was easy, because he mobilized the Red Guards and people were faithful to him, and China was isolated...from the outside world. It's not the case anymore," he said. "So they have to be much more careful and selective in intruding into people's private life, and I think they will face more resistance."
To cultivate loyalty and compliance to the party — and to Xi himself — students from primary schools to universities are required to study Xi's political philosophy starting from this academic year. The courses are a compulsory subject in the curriculum, taught with a series of stand-alone textbooks devoted to Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for the New Era.
That has prompted comparisons to Cultural Revolution, when the cult of personality around Mao reached a frenzied state, with the country's youngsters fervently studying his wisdom in the Quotations From Mao Zedong — known as the "Little Red Book."
But unlike Mao, who encouraged the young Red Guards to attack the party establishment and unleash chaos across the country, Xi wants the youth to "listen to the party, follow the party" and become a constructive force in achieving his ambition of restoring China to a great global power.
"The future belongs to the youth," Xi said in a speech marking the party's centennial in Beijing's Tiananmen Square on July 1.
"Chinese youth of the new era should set the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation as their mission, strengthen their ambition, backbone and confidence of being a Chinese...and not let down the expectations of the party and the people," he said.
 Nectar Gan is China Reporter for CNN International based in Hong Kong. She covers the changes taking place in China, and their impact on the world.  Steve George is Senior Editor for CNN International in Hong Kong. He oversees coverage from across the Asia-Pacific region, with a special focus on China.  'Super-strong firepower' The People's Liberation Army released footage on its official news site PLA Daily showing military drills held in Tibet on Monday. The footage shows joint-operation exercises not too far from the border with India, the testing of different weapons systems, and what the PLA Daily called "super-strong firepower" at an altitude of 4,700 meters (about 15,420 feet).  Police in China have released a former Alibaba employee accused of sexually assaulting a co-worker, without charging him with a crime. The decision has reignited public debate about a case that rocked the country's tech industry and led to an internal reckoning about sexual assault and harassment.
Alibaba fired the man last month after a woman accused him of sexually assaulting her.
The case became public after a post — allegedly written by the victim, who did not identify herself, and published on an internal Alibaba website — circulated on the Chinese social media website Weibo.
According to screenshots of the 8,000-word account, the woman claimed she was assaulted by her supervisor during a business trip to Jinan, a city in eastern China, while she says she was drunk.
CNN Business cannot confirm the authenticity of the post.
The man confessed to actions that Alibaba deemed "in serious violation of company policy," according to a memo sent by Alibaba Group chairman and CEO Daniel Zhang to employees. The man was investigated by police and detailed for 15 days.
But on Monday, police in Jinan said they had ended their investigation, adding that local prosecutors did not approve the man's arrest. The prosecutor's office said the man had committed "forcible indecency," but that the action did not constitute a crime.
The news was met with mixed reactions from the Chinese public, who have been following the case since the topic exploded into a massive online controversy last month. Some people thought the 15-day detention was not long enough to discourage future misconduct.
"This man could start a training class: How to conduct non-criminal forcible indecency," said one sarcastic comment that gained 15,000 likes on Weibo.
Others urged people to "believe in the law," arguing that the man's release was proof of his innocence.
The Alibaba case emerged just days after Chinese-Canadian pop star Kris Wu was detained by police after he was accused of rape. Wu was later formally arrested on suspicion of rape.
The two cases pushed sexual assault into the national consciousness, along with topics like workplace discrimination, the country's stifled #MeToo movement, a culture of victim-blaming, and the practice of "forced drinking," or using alcohol-heavy events to secure business deals or build partnerships.
After the incident, Alibaba said that it would establish a dedicated reporting channel for employees, as well as create an "anti-sexual harassment policy" that will include input from experts and employees.  Jessie Yeung is a digital producer for CNN International in Hong Kong, she covers breaking news and writes features about the Asia-Pacific region. Around Asia
 MEANWHILE IN CHINA You are receiving this newsletter because you're subscribed to Meanwhile in China.
No longer want to receive this newsletter? Unsubscribe. Interested in more? See all of our newsletters.
Create CNN Account | Listen to CNN Audio | Download the CNN App
® © 2021 Cable News Network, Inc. A WarnerMedia Company. All Rights Reserved. One CNN Center Atlanta, GA 30303
|
