Civic Participation in China Survey, 2018-2024 

Key Findings

• Although Chinese citizens are generally satisfied with the state’s management of national disasters and emergencies, they are concluding that the state cannot manage them alone. Chinese citizens increasingly see a complementary role for civil society organizations (CSOs) in times of crisis. 

• Volunteers who have meaningfully interacted with CSOs are more skeptical than non-volunteers about CSOs’ ability to fulfill a crisis management function. This suggests that that the political legitimacy of the Communist Party of China is not challenged by allowing CSOs a greater role in crisis management.

• The role and function of citizen-led volunteers in an authoritarian context vary from a Western liberal democratic one. While citizens who volunteer in China learn and differentiate channels most appropriate for addressing specific social problems, contra democratic jurisdictions, Chinese volunteers generally do not try to directly hold their government accountable for poor performance.

• The more years of citizenship education a Chinese citizen is exposed too, the less likely they are influenced by a state-led conception of citizenship characterized by passive obedience and loyalty to the state. Namely, greater exposure to citizenship education is positively correlated with a more active and participatory view of citizenship. 

• The state’s messaging on ‘common prosperity’ and ‘tertiary distribution’ for philanthropic and voluntary activities has a marginal effect on Communist Party of China’s members. In the 2020s, Party members are donating more, volunteering more, and are increasingly likely to believe that their behaviours make a difference in society. 

• The existence of the 'bad citizen' – those who choose not to donate/volunteer – indicates a disposition for heightened agency amongst a select citizenry cohort. This suggests the conceptual underpinnings of a ‘skeptical citizen’ who does not necessarily fully subscribe to the state’s image of the current model citizen.

• Bad citizens’ decisions are influenced by those in their immediate social circle, their general view of the act of volunteering and donating, and their level of support for the state. This casts doubt on the ability of state rhetoric to rely on charitable donations and volunteerism to address increasing socio-economic inequalities in the 2020s – even as part of an overall  ‘common prosperity’ agenda.