Revolution in China???

The Guardian reports that there has been very small signs of a potential democratic revolution spreading through China. There was an online call for a "Jasmine Revolution" in 13 cities throughout China. It is unknown where this online message originated from, and there is some speculation that it may have been started from abroad. This message, of course, caused a "swift crackdown" with "scores" of arrests from Chinese Authorities. President Hu Jintao stated that top government officials need to have more strict internet observation policies so to sustain order, handle online information and "to better guide public opinion."

Fortunately for the government officials, there was a huge police presence at the locations and relatively few protesters showed up. Still, a Hong Kong based democratic advocacy group estimated that 100 protesters were "taken away by police, prevented from leaving home, or were missing" throughout the country. There were also many reports of police simply asking citizens in the protest-designated areas what they were doing and recommended that they not take part.

It is interesting to entertain the idea that this democratic revolution is expanding, at least to a certain extent, to the Chinese population. The tight controls that the Chinese Government has on the population has been tested multiple times, but the revolutions in the Middle East seems to increase pressures all around. I believe, as one activist in China suggests, "I think it is significant, not in terms of whether it is going to topple the political system, but in indicating China is not immune from larger global trends about the impact of new communications on people's aspirations."

Brianna Howell