The Foreign Service Journal, September 2012

S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 2 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 31 democratic reform, even while polit- ical soul-searching takes place over such issues as corruption. China has made efforts in recent years to leverage political influence overseas to limit criticism of its human rights record. Beijing is a major aid donor in Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia, sits on the United Nations Human Rights Council, and is courted for its diplomatic support on issues ranging from Sudan to Syria. Yet China’s economic model is not as widely admired as it was several years ago. It has become apparent that China’s rapid economic growth absent political modern- ization has created multiple stressors. These include cor- ruption, income inequality, lack of protections for a vast and growing population of migrant workers, environmental degradation, consumer safety issues and labor unrest. Moreover, the huge leap in living standards has gener- ated rising expectations. While eco- nomic growth has happened without political reform, sustaining a modern economy without modern, rights-re- specting rule of law is looking in- creasingly challenging. Calls for Change These social pressures are ex- pressed in the large number of citizen protests that have taken place around the country in recent years. These spontaneous, sometimes violent protests are organized by ordinary Chinese citizens over a wide range of issues that mainly concern the quality of everyday life: land disputes, abuse of power by local officials, environmental threats, labor unrest and food safety. While some Chinese officials believe that they can con- tinue to walk the path of economic growth without politi- cal liberalization, others are clearly grappling with how to answer these growing demands for change from their citi- F OCUS Societies change from within, and the nature of that change is in the hands of the Chinese people.