Stability maintenance
Stability maintenance (Chinese: 维稳; pinyin: Wéiwěn) is a term used by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to refer to all-round control by the authorities to maintain the established ruling order and prevent protest and dissent that may challenge its legitimacy or rule in the People's Republic of China.
History
[edit]The term weiwen was first used in People's Daily, the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, in 2002 in the explanation accompanying a photograph of the People's Armed Police.[1] During the run-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Chinese state began to emphasize stability maintenance, and the term reached new heights of popularity in Chinese media.[1][2] In the 2020s, large language models, such as those produced by DeepSeek, have increased in usage for stability maintenance and "public opinion guidance."[3]
Definition
[edit]According to the definition of the People's Daily, the fundamental purpose of stability maintenance is to safeguard the fundamental interests of the masses. When law enforcement officers maintain public order, they must first ensure that they have good order; when they defend social justice, they must first demonstrate that they can handle matters fairly; when they crack down on illegal activities, they must first strictly abide by the law. Only by maintaining stability in this way can the rights and interests of the masses be safeguarded to the greatest extent possible.[4] Maintaining stability is an important indicator of the performance of party and government officials in mainland China.[5]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Bandurski, David (2012-09-14). "Preserving Stability". China Media Project. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
- ^ Khatchadourian, Raffi (5 April 2021). "Surviving the Crackdown in Xinjiang". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
- ^ Colville, Alex (April 25, 2025). "DeepSeek: A Tool Tuned for Social Governance". China Brief. Jamestown Foundation. Retrieved April 26, 2025.
- ^ "維穩目的是維護群眾利益 - 大公報". 大公文匯 www.tkww.hk. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
- ^ 王方杰 (2009-05-27). "河北"维稳"纳入政绩考核 影响地方稳定一票否决". People's Daily (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2009-06-02. Retrieved 2012-01-19.