In order to control the twenty-three provinces, and over a billion citizens, of China, it is to be expected that there would be a strong government to stand over those citizens. When looking more closely, however, at the People’s Republic of China, only one political party is present -the Communist Party. This Chinese Communist Party (CCP) can efficiently coerce its followers into believing in their corruption using methods such as spying, exiling and detainment. Through many methods used at home and abroad, the Communist Party of China effectively controls its citizens.
Despite having strength today, the Communist Party has not always been as influential. Founded in 1921, the CCP was both a revolutionary movement and a political party. In
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From within, it seems to be as though a cloud of amnesia has spread over the citizens ever since the pro-democracy demonstrations of 1989. One student remarked that “ ‘No matter what they do, their priority, their focus, is stability’ ” (Makinen), and that certainly is the case with the pro-democracy demonstrations. All found participants were punished for their actions; many of these punishments include arrest or detainment. The fear of punishment would affect people in ways that would change even their spending habits, which is an effect of China’s “broadest attack on corruption” (Wei). For example, about twenty-five thousand citizens were punished for having “extravagant lifestyles”, which led to the subsequent fear of purchasing luxury goods (Wei). Using the citizens’ fear is an effective way of control, and the CCP uses this well to their …show more content…
One Chinese man, Erkin Kurban, upon traveling back to China from Canada, was interrogated on the current status of the exiled Uighur community. The Uighur are Chinese citizens in the Xinjiang region of China who are Turkic. Kurban was forced to spy for China or never see his family again. The CCP, therefore, has “the power to treat family members back home as hostages,” and the family is a very powerful influence when making decisions. If an activist is found, their family often pays the price through beatings or imprisonment. In addition to this, the CCP is giving other countries lies in order to keep their activist citizens from traveling away. For example, one prominent Uighur leader, Umit Hamit, is denied entry to some Western countries since the CCP falsely accused him of terrorism. In more ways than one, the CCP has a large influence on a traveling Chinese citizen’s life