Study smarter with Fiveable
Get study guides, practice questions, and cheatsheets for all your subjects. Join 500,000+ students with a 96% pass rate.
Human rights issues in China aren't just a list of grievances—they're a window into how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) maintains control over a massive, diverse population. You're being tested on your understanding of authoritarian governance mechanisms, state-society relations, and the tension between sovereignty claims and international norms. Every issue on this list connects to core concepts: how the party-state uses surveillance, legal frameworks, and ideological control to manage dissent and maintain legitimacy.
When you study these cases, think about the underlying patterns: ethnic minority policies reveal how Beijing handles pluralism, media and internet controls show information management strategies, and civil society restrictions demonstrate the CCP's approach to organized opposition. Don't just memorize which group faces which abuse—know what mechanism of control each case illustrates and how it reflects the party's broader governance philosophy.
The CCP frames ethnic minority regions as security threats requiring special measures. This reflects the tension between national unity and ethnic pluralism, with Beijing prioritizing territorial integrity and Han-dominated governance over minority autonomy.
Compare: Uyghur vs. Tibetan repression—both involve cultural erasure and religious control, but Xinjiang's surveillance infrastructure is far more technologically advanced, and the scale of internment is unprecedented. If an FRQ asks about ethnic minority policy, Xinjiang is your most comprehensive example of securitization.
The CCP treats information as a strategic resource that must be managed to maintain social stability and party legitimacy. Censorship isn't just about hiding bad news—it's about shaping the narrative environment in which citizens form opinions.
Compare: Traditional media censorship vs. internet controls—print and broadcast censorship is top-down and preventive, while online censorship must be reactive and relies on tech company cooperation. Both demonstrate information sovereignty as a core CCP priority.
The Chinese legal system serves party interests rather than protecting individual rights. Due process exists on paper but is routinely bypassed when political priorities demand it.
Compare: Mainland detention vs. Hong Kong crackdown—mainland repression has been consistent for decades, while Hong Kong represents a dramatic legal transformation of a previously free society. Hong Kong is your best example of how the CCP handles challenges to its authority in real-time.
The CCP views organized religion as a potential rival for citizens' loyalty. Religious policy reflects the party's insistence that no institution can operate outside state supervision.
Compare: Religious persecution vs. population control—both demonstrate state penetration into private life, but religious policy aims at ideological conformity while population policy pursued economic development goals. Both reveal how the party prioritizes collective objectives over individual rights.
The CCP prevents the emergence of organized groups that could challenge party authority. Independent civil society is viewed not as a partner but as a threat.
Compare: NGO restrictions vs. labor controls—both prevent organized collective action, but NGO policy targets ideological threats while labor policy balances worker exploitation against economic productivity. FRQs on state-society relations can use either example.
| Concept | Best Examples |
|---|---|
| Ethnic minority policy | Uyghur internment, Tibetan religious control |
| Information sovereignty | Great Firewall, press censorship, social media monitoring |
| Legal repression | Arbitrary detention, National Security Law, judicial dependence |
| Religious control | Sinicization, Falun Gong suppression, underground church raids |
| State-society relations | NGO restrictions, civil society harassment, weiwen system |
| Coercive governance | Forced sterilizations, one-child enforcement, labor exploitation |
| Surveillance state | Xinjiang biometrics, social credit, internet monitoring |
| Territorial integrity | Hong Kong crackdown, Tibet autonomy denial, Xinjiang securitization |
Which two human rights issues best illustrate the CCP's approach to information control, and what mechanisms do they share?
Compare Uyghur and Tibetan repression: what common goal drives both policies, and what distinguishes the methods used in Xinjiang?
How does the National Security Law in Hong Kong demonstrate the tension between sovereignty claims and international norms?
If an FRQ asked you to explain how the CCP prevents organized opposition, which three issues would you use as evidence, and why?
Compare religious persecution and civil society restrictions: what underlying principle of CCP governance do both reflect, and how do their targets differ?