Between Stability and Suppression
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18192/politika.8318Keywords:
China, Golden Shield Project, Censorship, Social Unrest, AuthoritarianismAbstract
This paper examines the Golden Shield Project as a cornerstone of the people’s Republic of China’s censorship and surveillance architecture, analyzing its implications on state control, economic strain, and social unrest. While China nominally guarantees freedom of speech, its legal apparatus allows for sweeping restrictions on information, reinforcing a governance model grounded in centralized narratives and pervasive digital monitoring. The expansion of the domestic security apparatus following the 1989 Tienanmen square protests illustrates the state’s increasing reliance on surveillance to suppress dissent. However, this strategy carries substantial financial and societal costs: rising domestic security expenditures have paralleled an increase in public dissent. through a comparative analysis of Canada's governance framework, this paper highlights how China’s prioritization of suppression over reform entrenches a self-perpetuating cycle of unrest. drawing on historical patterns, insights from economic data, and case studies of protest movements, this analysis underscores the unintended consequences of censorship. It concludes by exploring alternative governance models rooted in transparency, participatory decision-making, and public trust as more sustainable pathways in the era of global interconnectedness.References
Berkeley Economic Review. (2023, November 14). “Lying flat”: The demise of the Chinese workforce and its impact on the Chinese economy. https://econreview.studentorg.berkeley.edu/lying-flat-the-demise-of-the-chinese-workforce-and-its-impact-on-the-chinese-economy/
Bu, S., & Woo, R. (2025, April 14). China’s youth jobless rate dips in March to 16.5%. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-youth-jobless-rate-dips-march-165-2025-04-17/
Buckley, C. (2011, March 5). China internal security spending jumps past army budget. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/world/china-internal-security-spending-jumps-past-army-budget-idUSTRE7222RA
Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-23. https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-23/
Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China, 105 P.R.C., § 1.2 (1997). Asian Legal Information Institute. http://www.asianlii.org/cn/legis/cen/laws/clotproc361/
Cybersecurity Law of the People’s Republic of China (2017). DigiChina, Stanford University. https://digichina.stanford.edu/work/translation-cybersecurity-law-of-the-peoples-republic-of-china-effective-june-1-2017/
Laozi. (2010). Dao De Jing (R. Eno, Trans.). University of Florida. http://www.fang.ece.ufl.edu/daodejing.pdf (Original work composed ca. 6th century BCE)
Farnan, O. (2014). A first look at deep packet inspection employed by the Golden Shield. Centre for Doctoral Training in Cyber Security. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:7140ef56-7798-4aff-ac98-38392783df76/files/m2b8b558d89b1e6861f1c5ab5ac03d47b
Feng, G. C., & Guo, S. Z. (2013). Tracing the route of China’s Internet censorship: An empirical study. Telematics and Informatics, 30(4), 335–345. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2012.09.002
Fitz-Gerald, H., & Padalko, A. (2025, January 13). Canadians are ready to strengthen national defence. Centre for International Governance Innovation. https://www.cigionline.org/articles/canadians-are-ready-to-strengthen-national-defence/
Fu, K., Chan, C., & Chau, M. (2013). Assessing censorship on microblogs in China: Discriminatory keyword analysis and the real-name registration policy. IEEE Internet Computing, 17(3), 42–50. https://doi.org/10.1109/MIC.2013.28
Eurostat. (2025, March 21). Government expenditure on public order and safety. Eurostat Statistics Explained. Retrieved April 25, 2025, from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Government_expenditure_on_public_order_and_safety
Göbel, C., & Ong, L. H. (2012). Social unrest in China. Europe China Research and Advice Network. https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/public/Research/Asia/1012ecran_gobelong.pdf
Gong, B., Shen, Y., & Chen, S. (2025). Diminishing Target-based GDP Manipulation: Evidence from China. Journal of Public Economics, 244, 105349. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2025.105349
Greitens, S. C. (2017). Rethinking China’s coercive capacity: An examination of PRC domestic security spending, 1992–2012. The China Quarterly, 232, 1002–1025. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305741017001023
Henry, E. S. (2022). The long march to the white paper revolution: Understanding recent COVID protests in China. Anthropology Now, 14(3), 175–182. https://doi.org/10.1080/19428200.2022.2186658
Jia, X. (2024). Inequality and Social Class in Contemporary China: A Critical Review and Future Directions. East Asia. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12140-024-09445-9
Keman, H. (2025). Levels of democraticness and degrees of stateness: Viability, trust and legitimacy in ‘liberal’ democracies. Zeitschrift Für Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12286-024-00617-8
Kirton, D., & Pomfret, J. (2024, November 27). In careful protest, China Evergrande’s investors press for action. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/careful-protest-china-evergrandes-investors-press-action-2024-11-27/
Li, X., & Zheng, B. (2025). Social welfare expansion and political support during economic slowdown: A panel data analysis of China, 2010–2018. Social Science Research, 125, 103112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2024.103112
Lin, J. Y. (2025). Fallacy of the ‘China Collapse’ theory. China Economic Journal, 18(1), 3–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/17538963.2024.2437864
Lu, J., & Zhao, Y. (2018). Implicit and explicit control: Modeling the effect of Internet censorship on political protest in China. International Journal of Communication, 12, 3294–3316. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328290512_Implicit_and_Explicit_Control_Modeling_the_Effect_of_Internet_Censorship_on_Political_Protest_in_China
MacKinnon, R. (2007). Flatter world and thicker walls? Blogs, censorship and civic discourse in China. Public Choice, 134(1–2), 31–46. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11127-007-9199-0
Martina, M. (2014, March 4). China withholds full domestic-security spending figure. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/world/china-withholds-full-domestic-security-spending-figure-idUSBREA240B7/
McDonell, S. (2017, July 17). Why China censors banned Winnie the Pooh. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-china-blog-40627855
Miao, Y. (2016). The paradox of middle-class attitudes in China: Democracy, social stability, and reform. Journal of Current Chinese Affairs, 45(1), 169–190. https://doi.org/10.1177/186810261604500108
Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China. (2013–2023). China government expenditure: Public security (Various jurisdictions; various years). Retrieved via CEIC, from https://www.ceicdata.com/en
Pei, M. (2024). The sentinel state: Surveillance and the survival of dictatorship in China. Harvard University Press. https://doi.org/10.4159/9780674296459
Public Security Administration Punishments Law of the People’s Republic of China (2012). Nanjing University of Science and Technology. https://bwc.njust.edu.cn/_t46/20/1a/c1498a8218/page.htm
Purbrick, M. (2019). A report of the 2019 Hong Kong protests. Asian Affairs, 50(4), 465–487. https://doi.org/10.1080/03068374.2019.1672397
Qin, B., Strömberg, D., & Wu, Y. (2024). Social media and collective action in China. Econometrica, 92(6), 1993–2026. https://doi.org/10.3982/ECTA20146
Schedler, A., & Hoffmann, B. (2016). Communicating authoritarian elite cohesion. Democratization, 23(1), 93–117. https://doi.org/10.1080/13510347.2015.1095181
Statistics Canada. (2013–2023). Police Administration Survey (Various years). https://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&SDDS=3301
Steinhardt, H. C. (2017). Discursive accommodation: Popular protest and strategic elite communication in China. European Political Science Review, 9(4), 539–560. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1755773916000102
Sun, W., Jones, J. A., & Gamber, M. (2023). A turning point for China’s population: No child and long illness. Aging and Disease, 14(6), 1950–1952. https://doi.org/10.14336/AD.2023.0326
Textor, C. (2024, November 30). Defense budget in China 2013–2023. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1049681/china-national-defense-spending/
Tian, Y. L., & Munroe, T. (2022, October 24). China’s Xi clinches third term, packs leadership with loyalists. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-communist-party-politburo-standing-committee-unveiled-2022-10-23/
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. (2013–2023). Government expenditure plan and main estimates (Various years). https://www.canada.ca/en/treasury-board-secretariat/services/planned-government-spending/government-expenditure-plan-main-estimates.html
Van Vark, A. (2021). Under Pressure: Security and Stability Related Challenges for Liberal Democracy in North-western Europe. Democracy and Security, 17(3), 296–323. https://doi.org/10.1080/17419166.2021.1920930
World Bank. (2023). Statistical Performance Indicators (SPI). Retrieved from https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/statistical-performance-indicators
Wu, X., Ramesh, M., & Yu, J. (2017). Autonomy and Performance: Decentralization Reforms in Zhejiang Province, China. Public Administration and Development, 37(2), 94–109. https://doi.org/10.1002/pad.1786
Yeh, Y. (2022, October 27). China’s young ‘lie flat’ under social challenges. East Asia Forum. https://eastasiaforum.org/2022/10/27/chinas-young-lie-flat-under-social-challenges/
Zhang, T. H., Xu, J., & Liu, J. (2024). How Do Toothless Tigers Bite? Extra-institutional Governance and Internet Censorship by Local Governments in China. The China Quarterly, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305741024000602
Zhang, M., & Wu, X., (Eds.). (2017). Public Security and Governance in Contemporary China (F. Fang, Trans.; 1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315181059
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Politika, the Undergraduate Journal of International Affairs, Politics and Policy aims to provide immediate open access to all published content.
Authors retain full copyright of the works published in the journal. All published articles are licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are appropriately credited.
This licensing model affirms the journal’s commitment to open access and the free dissemination of scholarly work. Authors are encouraged to deposit their published work on personal websites and other relevant platforms to maximize visibility and impact.
