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Respondents satisfied with Party's role in leading pandemic fight, poverty relief Chinese people's satisfaction and trust in the century-old Communist
Party of China has been on the rise, driven by the Party leading the
country in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and eliminating extreme
poverty, according to reports and analysts. Earlier this month, an image circulated online moved many netizens.
Three epidemic-control workers dressed in white protective suits were
seen in a fast-moving vehicle carrying medical supplies into driving
wind and rain along a street in Guangzhou, Guangdong province's capital,
which was recently hit by a new outbreak of COVID-19. A red Party flag attached to the vehicle fluttered above the workers' heads, its bright color standing out in the dim light. The image was taken by a resident in Liwan district, a high-risk area
where the first locally transmitted case was reported in the latest
outbreak, on June 2. He shared it on the microblogging service Sina
Weibo and wrote: "In the rainstorm, it is you who carry this flag to
charge to the front. Pay tribute to the heroes in harm's way." Many netizens commented that the Party flag made them feel at ease.
One wrote, "The Party flag always flutters high on the front line", and
another commented "At critical moments, Party members will surely step
up." The Party's flag is reassuring to the Chinese people, especially
after the strong leadership shown by Party organizations in implementing
epidemic control measures beginning last year, and the arduous efforts
of millions of Party members to eradicate absolute poverty in China. A survey conducted by the University of California's China Data Lab
showed support for the government among the Chinese public has risen,
with the average level of trust in the central government increasing
from 8.23 in June 2019 to 8.87 in May last year, measured on a scale of
one to 10. When respondents were asked whether they preferred living under
China's political system compared with others, the percentage of
respondents who preferred China's system increased from 70 percent to 83
percent over the same period. A long-term Harvard University survey released last year found that
Chinese citizens' satisfaction with the Party and the government has
increased across the board, with the central government receiving a
strong level of approval of 93 percent in 2016, the end of the survey
period. From the impact of broad national policies to the conduct of local
town officials, Chinese citizens rate the government as more capable and
effective than ever before, according to the report from the Ash Center
for Democratic Governance and Innovation under the Harvard Kennedy
School. "The most striking feature of our survey's data since 2003 is the
near universal increase in Chinese citizens' average satisfaction toward
all four levels of government," the authors said in the report. The independent survey drew on in-person interviews with more than
31,000 individuals from urban and rural areas between 2003 and 2016 to
offer a look at how ordinary Chinese citizens felt about the government. These trends are likely continuing today, Edward Cunningham, one of
the authors of the report and director of the Ash Center China Programs
at the Harvard Kennedy School, said in an article published by the
Christian Science Monitor in February. He cited the handling of the COVID-19 outbreak as an example, and
said as the central government engaged in lockdowns and the situation
improved, satisfaction with its actions had increased and spread to
views of local governments. A survey of 5,865 people issued last month by the Chinese Academy of
Social Sciences' China Anti-Corruption Research Center showed 96 percent
of respondents were satisfied with the epidemic control work. Over 90
percent said the government demonstrated good transparency and
adjustment of policies to suit actual conditions were effective,
according to the survey conducted in the second half of last year. Zhang Wanhong, executive director of the Institute for Human Rights
Studies at Wuhan University, said: "As a resident of Wuhan, I feel that
people's satisfaction with the Party has been greatly improved,
especially after the country resumed social stability after the big test
of the epidemic and took the lead in realizing economic recovery. The
Party is highly resilient and able to adapt to developments and meet
different challenges." Zhang recalled when the outbreak happened in Wuhan, Hubei province.
Faced with the unprecedented epidemic, the Party and government quickly
summed up what measures were necessary, including organizing
community-level prevention and control and using big data to assess the
crisis. The Chinese government's epidemic prevention and control measures
were successful as it adhered to the concept of putting life first and
providing fair treatment, Zhang said. "People's feeling of gratitude
toward the Party is genuine and simple because their lives and interests
have been well protected," he said.
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