Abstract

Promoting equality and eliminating discrimination have been core values proclaimed by the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). However, institutional factors and cultural traditions have made discrimination against disadvantaged and marginalized minorities common at the levels of both law and implementation. Access to judicial remedies remains difficult, and citizens have had little capacity to protect their own rights. This chapter examines the development of anti-discrimination activism and highlights the ways this movement has had numerous successes and achieved marked progress in anti-discrimination litigation and policy advocacy. Yet there are many remaining obstacles and recent political developments have had a serious impact on many of the forces driving that change. For China to progress toward eliminating remaining forms of discrimination in society, these obstacles will need to be removed and the positive forces of civil society activism released from their bounds.