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Managing Political Opposition Groups in China: Explaining the Continuing Anti-Falun Gong Campaign

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 July 2015

Stephen Noakes  and
Caylan Ford
Stephen Noakes*
Affiliation:
University of Auckland.
Caylan Ford
Affiliation:
Independent human rights consultant, Ottawa.
*
Email: [email protected] (corresponding author).
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Abstract

In this article, we seek to explain the persistence of the Communist Party's campaign to suppress the Falun Gong religious movement. We argue that the unrecoverable investment of more than a decade's worth of suppression work, compounded by the ineffectiveness of these efforts (as evinced in official documents and by the continuation of resistance activities), limits the state's ability to halt its campaign against Falun Gong. Our findings shed light on some of the Chinese state's current strategies for the management and control of domestic opposition groups, and challenge the view of the Party as adaptable and highly capable of reform from within.

摘要

本文试图解释中国共产党对法轮功宗教团体镇压的持续性。我们认为, 这场十多年的镇压活动作为一笔不可回收的沉淀成本, 加之镇压行为本身的低效性 (一如官方文件以及法轮功的反抗活动所示), 限制了政府制止这场运动的能力。我们的研究结果揭示了当下的中国政权在管理和控制国内反对派团体时所使用的策略, 并试图挑战如下观点: 中国共产党具备适应性, 并有从内部进行自我改良的强大能力。

Keywords

Chinese Communist PartyFalun Gongoppositionresistancehuman rights中国共产党法轮功反对派抗议人权
Type
Articles
Information
The China Quarterly , Volume 223 , September 2015 , pp. 658 - 679
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Copyright
Copyright © The China Quarterly 2015 

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