Subjective Evaluation of Changes in Civil Liberties and Political Rights in China

What Drives Policy Attention to Climate Change in China? An Empirical Analysis through the Lens of People’s Daily

“…The information released by People's Daily is guided and vetted by authorities to ensure its consistency with the agendas and positions of the central government [58,59]. Since People's Daily provides direct information about the policies and viewpoints of the central government, its content reflects the policy attention and agenda in China [58,60,61].…”

“…There have been studies using the content of People's Daily and other official newspapers as a proxy for policy elites' attention to a variety of issues in China. For example, Shi and Lou used the content in People's Daily to evaluate the changes in civil liberty and political rights in China [61]; Mei et al studied the articles in People's Daily and unveiled the shift in patterns of policy experimentation and policy innovation in China [62].…”

“…Regarded as an authoritarian state, China is often taken as the epitome of the top-down policy process pattern. However, some studies found that the party-state control had begun to atrophy, as the public gains more freedom to express and thus exert more influence on the policy process through making comments and complaints on social media or acting as a policy entrepreneur [9,61,94,95]. Voices for a cleaner environment have been aired frequently and loudly, which facilitates the promotion of environmental issues to the priority list of China's policy agenda.…”

Civil society, human rights and religious freedom in the People’s Republic of China: analysis of CSOs’ Universal Periodic Review discourse

“…30 Moreover, longitudinal survey data on citizens' subjective evaluation of political changes found that more than half of respondents reported that they believed freedom of religion had improved. 31 In contrast, an opposing literature asserts that when religious (and 'quasi-religious') organisations are felt to pose a threat to CCP power and stability, oppression and rights denial are a reality. As one account puts it, although the CCP has asserted 'Christianity [i]s compatible with [it's] vision of China as a "harmonious society" [it …] has continued to preach atheism and places restrictions on faith'.…”

‘Constructing a New Socialist Countryside’ and Beyond: An Analytical Framework for Studying Policy Implementation and Political Stability in Contemporary China

“…See e.g. surveys of the Asian Barometer Project [3]; the World Values Survey [93]; the Pew Global Attitudes Project [59]; or studies featuring opinion polls or other surveys such as Chen [13]; Chen et al [15]; Gilley [28]; Shi [72]; Tang [79]; Shi and Lou [73]; Walder [87]; some contributions in White [90]; Zhong [109]. For those further studies pointing at the success of China's central government in adopting relevant policies and allowing for their adaptation to local demands during the implementation process, see e.g.…”