| This investigation describes a comparative case study of pro-democracy protests in post-Mao China. Pro-democracy protests were an important factor which significantly influenced the Chinese Communist Party's political succession, as well as the direction and speed of regime transition since 1978.; The main subject of this research are three pro-democracy protests: the Democracy Wall Movement of 1978-79, the Student Movement of 1986-87, and the Tiananmen Massacre of 1989. The causes, processes, and consequences of these protests are examined and compared within Huntington's analytical framework of democratization as proposed in The Third Wave (1991). Five factors that brought about democratization--legitimacy problems, economic development, cultural change, external actors, and demonstration effects--are examined from the standpoint of the situation in China. A comparison of three cases shows that legitimacy, economics, and culture were the major causes of the protests. The level of the correlation between the last two factors and the protests was low, though they also played important roles in the 1989 Tiananmen demonstrations.; This research highlights two crucial interactions between the government and its opposition, and between reformers and "standpatters" in the governing coalition. The report finds that the protests always flourished in a context when the CCP leadership was divided over the policy toward liberalization and democratization. But the trans-formation of the CCP regime to a liberal one failed, not only because the democratic leaders were not strong, but also because the protesters were unable to unite and to coordinate with the democratic reformers. Also, many protesters, especially those that occupied Tiananmen Square in June 1989, underestimated Deng Xiaoping's determination to defend the communist regime and maintain stability in China.; The dismissal of two Party general secretaries--Hu Yaobang in 1987 and Zhao Ziyang in 1989--demonstrated Huntington's proposition: If "standpatters" dominate the government and extremists dominate the opposition, democratization is impossible. |
