Neoconservatism in China
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In the People's Republic of China, neoconservatism (新保守主义) is a movement which first arose in the early 1990s and argues that progress is best accomplished through gradual reform of society, eschewing revolution and sudden overthrow of the governmental system. This movement is based heavily on the ideas of Edmund Burke and has been described in the West by the scholar Joseph Fewsmith. Other than the name, the movement has no connection with neoconservatism in the United States (the US movement is instead referred to as Niukang in Chinese), though, from the standpoint of philosophy, it can be identified as a form of conservative thought, albeit ideologically different from "old conservatism" (旧保守主义).
The neoconservative movement in China is in general supportive of the current government, while at the same time being opposed to aspects of the government which advocate the notion of revolution. Unlike the official ideology, however, Chinese neoconservatism is neutral on the validity of Marxism and skeptical toward Mao Zedong, founder and long-time leader of the People's Republic of China. Chinese neoconservatism has significant support from the Shanghai Clique in the Politburo.
Seen from a Chinese neoconservative perspective, the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, and the Tiananmen Protests of 1989 were all in error in that they attempted to change society through revolutionary means.
