Chinese students’ perceptions of the ‘good citizen’: Obedience to an authoritarian regime

All regimes, both democratic and non-democratic, have a bias towards the type of ‘good citizen’ they require. Mainland China, as a typical authoritarian regime, actively proposes and defines its idea of a ‘good citizen’ and implements civic education to cultivate students into becoming the ‘good citizen’ it necessitates. This article is based on research employing qualitative methods to compare the ‘good citizen’ as defined by Chinese authorities with the perceptions of junior high-school students. The purpose of this article is to examine whether students feel they can fulfil the role of ‘good citizen’ as required by the Chinese authoritarian regime. It argues that the majority of students’ perceptions of a ‘good citizen’ are consistent with what Chinese authorities desire. Furthermore, this article indicates that the state’s strong capacity to support the authoritarian regime most likely accounts for the students’ obedience in adopting the qualities of the regime’s desired ‘good citizen’ in mainland China.