Why do Chinese people trust their government?
By Jia Xiaojing and Wang Zi | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2023-03-13 10:55
One needs to remove tinted-glasses to understand China
Bugulova's statement that "the vast majority of Chinese citizens have trust in the Communist Party of China" has been confirmed by public opinion polls in various countries.
In May 2020, a poll conducted by the China Data Lab at the University of California, San Diego's School of Global Policy and Strategy showed that over 90 percent of the Chinese people supported the government leaders during the Covid-19 outbreak.
On May 5, 2021, Gary Wu, a professor of sociology at York University in Canada, wrote in an article on the Washington Post website that Chinese citizens' trust in the Chinese government had increased to 98 percent and they "increasingly trusts all levels of government". 49 percent of those surveyed said they had become more trusting of the central government since the outbreak began.
The World Values Survey, a global survey of public values conducted by the World Federation of Social Science Networks, showed that in 2018, 95 percent of Chinese people had "great trust" in the Chinese government. That showed that this trust had withstood the test of time and had never faded as Chinese people have walked alongside their government.
"Why do the Chinese trust their government so much?" "Why do the Chinese trust their government when people in other countries have a hard time trusting their government?" Some people raised questions like these on Quora after seeing figures in a global trust survey which showed that Chinese respondents' trust in their government continued to grow. Under such topics, there would always be replies from international users who cited facts, figures, and the Chinese government's track record.
Below are some of the highlights of the replies: "The Chinese government is not acting for the privileged few, but for the best interests of the people." "I have gained many insights in China. Since reform and opening up, the Chinese government has made remarkable achievements." "The Chinese government has worked hard, efficiently, and adeptly to improve the lives of its citizens, helping to lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and hunger by providing them with decent housing, daily necessity, and education." "The Chinese government is much more reliable when it comes to disaster relief!"
Horst Poldrak, a German scholar of the history of philosophy and science, told The Elite Reference that the West has failed to understand the Chinese model and the reasons behind China's achievements because it is trapped by its own values.
He said: "The modernization of Chinese society is a great surprise and challenge for the capitalist-dominated world, because the current situation in China shows that economic prosperity, high-tech development, and growing wealth can happen under a completely different system, and that these results have already been achieved."
"Instead of becoming what the West wants it to be in its rapid modernization, China has been maintaining an alternative model, pursuing a path of development different from the West. Under the leadership of the CPC, economic prosperity and individual wealth can be integrated. The modern Chinese society is not governed by a leadership group that governs everything, decides everything, and shapes everything. It has been proven that Chinese citizens also participate in shaping Chinese institutions."
The Chinese society differs from the Western society because of its cultural and historical background, Dr Poldrake noted. "The question is not how many political parties are in power, but how they are organized... The Communist Party of China has open arms to all sectors of society."
"We have to remove our Western tinted glasses to see how the Chinese society works effectively," said Dr Poldrake.