Independent Chinese media person and author of “Ten Days in Chang’an”, Jiang Xue, stated in a recent speech that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) destructs media and civil society through censorship and other means. However, the blank paper protest has debunked the authoritarian control myth, showing that people have an instinctual tendency to resist and not always comply.
According to Central News Agency (CNA) report, on October 22nd, Taiwan’s National Tsing Hua University’s Center for Contemporary China Studies invited Jiang Xue, the author of “Ten Days in Chang’an”, to speak online with the topic “From the disillusionment of ‘Changing China’ to the possibility of independent documentation – The news industry transformation I have experienced.” Jiang Xue wrote “Ten Days in Chang’an” in the form of a diary, documenting the lockdown situation in Xi’an at the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022.
Jiang Xue mentioned that before 2020, the CCP constantly promoted the success of COVID-19 control, making articles reflecting on the epidemic very sensitive. After the publication of “Ten Days in Chang’an” on January 4, 2022, police indeed showed up wearing protective gear at her door. During that period, articles discussing the arrest of human rights lawyers did not raise as much concern.
During the lockdown in Xi’an, millions of people were trapped in their homes. Some people were stranded at train stations just passing through Xi’an. Nearly a month of being confined at home during the lockdown, individuals had to undergo nucleic acid testing every day before dawn. Jiang Xue remarked that writing “Ten Days in Chang’an” was simply part of a writer’s duty.
Jiang Xue believes that during the epidemic, blank paper protests (also known as white paper revolution or white paper movement) occurred in cities like Beijing and Shanghai, showing that people have an innate ability to resist.
She emphasized that epidemic control in Beijing was a large-scale drill where everyone was required to comply and accept orders. The biggest value of blank paper protests is piercing through this myth that people will always submit.
In her speech, Jiang Xue listed recent actions by the CCP to destroy media and civil society, including media censorship, legislation depriving freedom of speech, harsh punishment of dissenters, crackdown on ordinary citizens expressing opinions, introduction of Xi Jinping’s ideology into schools, strict control over the entertainment industry and publication products, and an increase in thought police harassment.
“Many people ask me, are you Chinese people accustomed to this state?” Jiang Xue believes that the current public opinion is manufactured, and the true voices of Chinese people often go unheard, hence the need to continue writing, reporting, and expressing those voices normally. “I am not optimistic, but I never give up hope.”