From comrade to citizen: the struggle for political rights in China

Abstract

From Comrade to Citizen: The Struggle for Political Rights in China, by Merle Goldman. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2005. xiv + 286 pp. US$39.95 (hardcover). This book promises to be something of a departure for Merle Goldman. Hitherto, her oeuvre has been largely concerned with China's intellectuals (using expansive Chinese definition thereof)· But both concept and implicit expectation that this social group can constitute backbone of an emerging civil society now seem out of date. After all, intellectuals had their chance in 1980s, and failed. Goldman reviews this history, bringing things up to date with a description of Tiananmen Mothers movement, Peace Charter Movement and activities of former political prisoners. She is especially informative on cyber dissidents. Also good is chapter on China Democratic Party (1998-99), which she describes as the most direct challenge to China's party-state system since 1949 revolution (p. 182). Goldman makes much of distinction between established and intellectuals, latter referring to would-be Communist supporters who were nonetheless rebuffed by Party. Actually, there is a large overlap between two, and both types have become so diverse that one wonders how important such categorization is. Obviously, disestablished intellectuals have been perceived by rulers to have stuck their necks out more than their establishment counterparts but, given paranoia that abounds in Zhongnanhai, one should not put much stock in this judgement. Whether one is an established, disestablished or imprisoned intellectual is largely a matter of rulers' whims. To extent that this distinction is not completely arbitrary, issue seems to be not so much what is said, but how widely it is being said and whether protagonists are perceived as being in any way organized. To put it another way, authorities are not afraid of diversity, so long as they alone make final call. The disestablishment of an intellectual may simply be result of factional politics at center. Even books by establishment intellectuals are sometimes banned and confiscated, while disestablished writers living abroad can sometimes publish in establishment press. Still, all of this is a fascinating subject, and this book provides much insight into intellectual scene and various schools of thought, including Marxist Humanists, Liberals, Neo-Maoists, New Left, Neo-conservatives and Neo-nationalists. But one then expects Goldman to move on and focus on various other types who have been struggling for political rights. …