A network of grass-root activism

AP gives a good overview of a new movement in social activism taking root in China. Last week's massive protest against the spike in fares for public transportation in Hunan province provided a good example on how local protest and a network of more professional organizers work together.

The movement — known as rights defense or "wei quan" in Chinese — took root in 2003, after police beat to death a young college graduate who was not carrying his residency papers. The government bowed to public outrage and curbed police powers for arbitrary detention, an unusual restraint to official authority and a move that energized socially conscious lawyers and scholars.

What is remarkable is their profound difference from their predecessors, the so-called 'dissidents' of the 1990s. They have no political target, like setting up a political party or overthrowing the government - a target no government would really appreciate. They go for issues where they would often find the central government at their side. Often they focus at the local conflicts between the citizens and their local governments, concerning AIDS, urban development, problems with elections and environmental protection.

A day later, Zhang [one of the organizers involved in the Hunan protest] says he was taken to dinner by provincial security agents and government officials, who warned him against talking to reporters.
Zhang remains unfazed, in part because he's not alone. He's part of the China Pan-Blue Alliance, a Web-based rights organization which started in 2005 and claims 2,000 registered members including college students, laid-off workers, teachers, journalists and lawyers.