social harmony 和谐社会 héxié shèhuì

A major policy orientation of the Hu-Wen administration (2002-12), 'social harmony' 和谐社会 was meant to overcome the Mao-era emphasis on class struggle. As internal security agencies and ‘stability maintenance’ rose with Legal Affairs Committee director Zhou Yongkang 周永康, a wide range of phenomena were deemed harmful to social harmony; repressing them was ironically called 'harmonising'. Smallholder shops in Beijing were thus 'harmonised' when they were removed from downtown areas.
keep in touch with current thinking

sign up for our complimentary monthly roundup