Despite reduced access and constrained visibility into Chinese civil society under Xi, underlying desires for liberalization persist among the urban middle class, as evidenced by small-scale research by scholars like Jennifer Pan on urban middle-class Chinese attitudes, which shows they still desire rule of law, freedom of assembly, and free speech.
factualpending
Speaker
Elizabeth EconomyEvidence Quote
“And I think some of the smallcale research that people like Jennifer Pan does here like on on urban middle class Chinese you know suggests that there is still a desire you know within the middle class uh of China uh for and maybe this is the liberalization as opposed to democracy but the liberalization of the political system. They want the rule of law. They want the ability to assemble. They want free speech.”
Source
Breaking The Engagement: How China Won And Lost America | Hoover Institution— Hoover InstitutionCreated: 8/11/2026, 7:09:14 AM
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