No fun allowed
The CCP’s methods of controlling the population’s morality are effective, but are they the best thing for China’s morale?
Last month, Chinese regulators announced that internet gaming companies were to limit service to minors to just 8-9 pm on Fridays, weekends and official holidays. This is the latest move by the government to tackle gaming addiction among young people, and contribute to improving their “physical and psychological health.”
I hadn’t really planned to talk about this topic as I thought the issue was pretty straightforward: ‘authoritarian state does authoritarian thing’ isn’t necessarily newsworthy in a post(?)-pandemic world. But a conversation with a fellow China-watcher friend a couple of weeks ago highlighted an interesting question: could the CCP possibly be doing the right thing? It wasn’t something I had considered myself (my bias rarely allows me to think the CCP is doing the ‘right thing’) but it turns out he wasn’t the only one to pose this question. While the move is no doubt controversial, it has also started a debate as to whether or not parents around the world should take a similar approach.
The question of whether or not the state has the right to interfere with child rearing to such a degree is quite a complex one. In the West it is unlikely that we would stand for the state being invasive to the point of using facial recognition to monitor our children in our own homes. But we have democracies, and even when they’re fragile, we still expect that certain freedoms and liberties will be respected by the state. Chinese citizens, on the other hand, have had the CCP dictating how to live their lives since 1949.
That being said, who is to decide what the right thing is at a population level? I’m not sure it’s within the scope of this newsletter to answer that question, but I think a better and more approachable question would be what the purpose of the new law is and how does it contribute to Xi’s attempts to improve the spiritual quality of China’s youth? How is this new law incorporated into the body of other laws designed to improve the spiritual wellbeing of China’s citizens?
As this is quite an ambiguous, subjective topic, I would also love to hear your thoughts on the issue, so please drop some comments down below and tell me what you think of the CCP’s approach!
Spiritual pollution
The belief that certain ideas and activities cause the spiritual pollution of Chinese society dates back to Imperial China. Many classical texts were burnt during the reign of the first emperor Qin Shi Huang for glorifying other states and undermining his own rule (though the details of the burning have been contested). A ban on opium was also one of the main factors that led to the Opium Wars in the mid-19th century.
Despite the Communist party claiming to be a clean break from the past, many elements of traditional China have been able to resist dilution by the new regime, the concept of preserving the spiritual cleanliness of the population being one of them. As a result, excessive gaming is not the only thing that has been banned by the CCP. Gambling has been outlawed in China since the party took power in 1949, and till today is only legal in certain official forms such as lotteries. China’s Great Firewall isn’t just for Facebook and Google either; pornography has been banned, as well as search results related to topics such as ‘Tibet’ and ‘Tiananmen’ that could be damaging to the CCP’s reputation.
The government has cracked down on other unhealthy activities that mainly young people engage in, for example idol chasing, which involves promoting celebrities as part of fan clubs. These clubs also encourage more dangerous behaviours such as “cyberbullying, stalking, doxxing and bitter online wars between fandoms.” The party has also banned scores of foreign films, TV shows, actors, bands, and celebrities that are seen to be in conflict with the values the CCP is attempting to promote.
Not all bans are necessarily for society’s benefit, however. Who can forget the famous Winnie the Pooh incident, for example? But generally speaking, the party is aiming to purge society of all potentially harmful foreign influences, as well as any media that could damage the party’s reputation.
A civilised society
The gaming ban should be seen as one part of a larger campaign by the CCP to rid China of all possible sources of spiritual pollution and create what is loosely referred to in China as a more civilised society. According to Qiushi, the leading theoretical journal of the CCP, “to realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation requires both strong material strength and strong spiritual strength. While persisting in focusing on economic construction and doing a good job in the construction of material civilization, we must persevere and consistently do a good job in the construction of spiritual civilization, and persevere in improving the level of social civilization.”
In other words, creating a civilised society is part of a larger campaign by the CCP to rejuvenate China, and create a developed, wealthy, and strong nation with deeply held values. Commentators and academics have pointed out that the Xi era is reminiscent of the campaigns against spiritual pollution that took place in the 1980s, which aimed to prevent the infiltration of ‘Western ideas’ such as freedom of speech and civil society, as well as banning the pointing out of historical errors made by the CCP.
But this new era isn’t just about values. The gaming ban is being promoted as something “conductive for minors' growth, as it curbs video game addiction - which damages children's health - and makes them more focused on learning and other activities such as sports,” with one commentator stating that the ban would “bring benefits to the country in the long run". Thus the ban isn’t just for the children’s own good, but for the good of the nation as a whole. In 2014, Xi gave a speech in which he evoked the principle of ‘culture with a moral purpose’ both as part of the Chinese dream the nation’s youth should strive for, and as a way to promote Chinese soft power, for example through the proliferation of Confucius Institutes throughout the world.
The current regime has an aim, which is evident from recent international policies as well as domestic policies. Their main aim is to build a strong nation that relies on no one, needs no allies, and is not to be messed with. But it also wants to be viewed positively, almost as an example for other nations, particularly those seeking an alternative to the Western developmental model.
In order to achieve that aim, it needs mentally strong, focused, but most importantly useful citizens. It needs all citizens to be on the same page; those with weaknesses such as addiction are equal to chinks in the armour, the same chinks that led to the decline of the Qing dynasty and the chaos of the 100 years of humiliation that ensued. It may be seen as an outdated mindset, but I do believe that the CCP approaches many of their policies with these thoughts in the back of their minds. No one focuses more on the history of their nation than the Chinese government.
This essentially equates to total control of the population to purge society of unhealthy tendencies. This control is also for the benefit of the party, which brooks no opposition. Hence the ban on gaming is naturally the party exercising their control over internet and tech companies, which have suffered a series of crackdowns over the past year or so.
Of course, the rules do not apply to all citizens equally. Like all societies, there are rules for thee and rules for me. The wealthy can also hop over to Macau to get their gambling fix, or can travel abroad to see their favourite banned singer or group perform. Bans on certain internet searches only affect those without access to a VPN. Thus, most of these rules mostly affect the poor or less educated members of society, who also happen to be the most vulnerable and easily controlled by the government.
What’s best?
A few years ago, I learnt about online addiction camps in China that essentially act as prisons for those whose parents have lost control. The stories from these camps were pretty brutal, and some were even shut down after one student reportedly died. However, the party seems convinced of their general effectiveness and they at least seem to be tackling the correct problem in the eyes of the state: people with bad behaviour - beyond the reach of parents, family, teachers - need extra input. But is that necessarily the role of the state?
In the West, personal freedom and civil liberties are considered sacred, and we are acutely aware when the state begins to overstep its bounds. In the UK this is often referred to as the ‘nanny state’, and in the US people often yell ‘socialism’ when they suspect the state is interfering too much. We tend to believe that people should deal with the consequences of their own actions, and instead of the state fixing problems, it should teach people how to live their lives properly and independently.
But this method often leads to people falling through the cracks, which is exactly what the CCP is trying to prevent. They want to create a wholesome nation where everyone is dedicated to making China a better place, by force if necessary. The CCP wants to do what it believes to be the right thing for its people, but the question is - is it the CCP’s place to decide what’s right and what’s wrong? I think my friend said it best:
The problem the CCP is facing now is that its citizens often have other priorities. In a country that is becoming ever more competitive - with terrifying exams and harsh work conditions - even white collar workers seem to be checking out en masse. As one study puts it, “Xi aims to rebuild the regime's legitimacy when it is increasingly vulnerable to economic slowdown and public anger about corruption, income disparity, and pollution, an embarrassing confession of regime fragility.” In my opinion, this is not something a ban on fun would help improve, but would actually make worse. As the state becomes more restrictive, people will probably be more likely to retreat from everyday life. What's the point in working so hard at school if you can’t unwind with some video games in your spare time?
Perhaps the CCP’s time would be better spent teaching people how to be responsible, instead of trying to do it for them. But then that might lead to people thinking for themselves too, something they’d likely rather avoid. Best to continue restricting and regulating until every minute of every day is spent doing activities aimed at bettering society, with all sense of individualism relegated to an afterthought.
Thanks to my friend for recommending this topic. If you have a topic you would like me to explore in a newsletter, drop me an email and let me know!
Sources
France24, Superfans lie low as China cracks down on 'false idols'
Global Times, Chinese regulator orders online gaming firms to limit services to minors in strictest anti-addiction move
Huffington Post, Chinese Censors Ban Winnie The Pooh, George Orwell And Letter 'N' To Silence Xi Critics
Linda Jaivin, “Culture - Cleaning Up,” in Pollution by Gloria Davies, Jeremy Goldkorn and Luigi Tomba
Qiushi, Persevere in improving the level of social civilization [Chinese]
Sixth Tone, Tired of Running in Place, Young Chinese ‘Lie Down’
Suisheng Zhao, “The Ideological Campaign in Xi's China: Rebuilding Regime Legitimacy”
The Economist, China has become a laboratory for the regulation of digital technology
The Guardian, 'Electronic heroin': China's boot camps get tough on internet addicts
WSJ, China Sets Weekday Ban on Kids’ Videogame Play. Should You Do That, Too?