Since taking office three years ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping has been stepping up political regimentation, including a tighter grip on thought education. Now he is increasing control of the media and the Internet. The strict control of speech and media activities may reflect Xi's desire to maintain social stability as China endures an economic slowdown. Such moves may also point to the difficulty Xi is experiencing in his bid to maintain the Communist Party's rule as the country confronts various domestic as well as diplomatic challenges.
While Xi's crackdown on rampant corruption among both high- and low-ranking officials may have the support of the general public, his stringent control of speech and media outlets could increase people's frustration — a potential source of social instability. When a nation becomes economically advanced, the usual course that follows is the pursuit of democratization in the political sphere. Xi should keep in mind that his moves could bring unexpected effects.
China's leadership has taken a series of actions to tighten its grip in areas related to free speech, human rights and religion. It put into effect a state security law last July and an anti-terrorism law in January. It announced a regulation in February to exclude foreign capital-funded companies from the business of selling e-books. The Chinese People's Congress, which ended its latest session in mid-March, withheld adopting new laws to control foreign nongovernmental organizations or Internet security but decided to treat them as "major tasks" to be tackled in the coming year. Japan, the United States, Canada and Germany had expressed concerns over the foreign NGO legislation, which would have placed them under the surveillance of public security agencies and would have required them to regularly submit reports on their funding and activities.