Harmony and stability have both become the bywords the Communist Party has sworn by in its grip on China. But as rapid economic growth continues, the pressure on the status quo further increases, with no other than the Chinese youth emerging as instrumental to a potential revolution.
It is through that very threat that the Chinese government has accustomed itself to responding through a series of crackdowns--censorship being among its staple tools. But as it continues to scramble against the perceived infiltration of Western values, the country's youth only continues to grow more appreciative.
Foreign Policy noted that the youth in China have been able to cultivate an appreciation toward Western values, largely because of the appeal of American entertainment--which most of them deem authentic--over propaganda-infused offerings coming from government-sanctioned television networks.
That, of course, has fomented dissent among the youth, who are increasingly becoming more averse with the Chinese government's obsession for conformity, as seen in their furious reaction to bans on popular American television series such as "The Big Bang Theory," "The Good Wife" and "NCIS," TIME reported.
The ban even went to the extent of having related search terms on Weibo censored, a sign that the Chinese government is keen on flexing its muscles in the name of suppressing possible avenues for dissent. State paranoia, in this case, is based on the growing appeal of Western culture among the youth in China.
As Western culture continues to grow a following among younger sections of China's population, a serious threat to the Chinese government's growth-based performance legitimacy. The centrality of the youth in changing political landscapes, as seen in how the former USSR collapsed, is at focus here.
Unless the Chinese government does something to counter the tests imposed against its performance legitimacy, it must contend with the youth's critically creative faculties that have made them conducive to neoliberal schools of thought--an inevitable product of China's economic upsurge.