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As I see it | China has to find the right ways to improve young people’s lives
- Communist Party has taken aim at after-school tutoring, celebrity fandom and video games in recent months
- But it needs to consider whether an unequal and restrictive society is the foundation of a strong and modern nation
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The Communist Party says it wants to protect young Chinese from what it sees as “toxic” influences, and in recent months has taken aim at everything from after-school tutoring to video games.
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Teenagers are facing restrictions on their use of technology, including that under-18s can only play online games for three hours a week. There is a clampdown on celebrity fandom, which Beijing sees as unhealthy, with regulators targeting “effeminate” pop idols, “morally incorrect” stars, and fan clubs.
The government has also cracked down on the lucrative for-profit tutoring sector, saying the aim is to reduce the cost of education and improve school-life balance.
All of these moves reflect a patriarchal political culture and the party’s ambition to “guide” every aspect of society, as well as anxiety over anything that could undermine its rule.
The party has also emphasised that it wants a healthy new generation to fulfil President Xi Jinping’s goal for China to become a strong and modern nation by 2049.
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China limits online gaming time for young people to 3 hours a week
China limits online gaming time for young people to 3 hours a week
For decades, the party’s focus has been on protecting young people from the “infiltration” of Western political ideology. After the Tiananmen crackdown in 1989, it doubled down on patriotic education to fill the void as people turned away from communist ideology. Now it is looking for ways to connect with the new generations who have grown up in a booming economy.
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