Chinese political psychology: political participation in Chinese societies

Abstract Forms of political participation, such as electoral voting, political lobbying, and civil disobedience, have generated a large body of research in democratic societies. These behaviours, however, may not represent political participation in societies with other forms of political systems, such as the Chinese, where people may express political opinions through various forms of participation or non-participation that are different from those in a democracy. This article explores the published literature on Chinese people's political participation in relation to three questions: How do Chinese participate in politics? Why do Chinese participate in politics? What does participation in politics do to an individual? Devoting most attention to the mainland China, followed by Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore, this article highlights the longitudinal research that examines people's change in attitudes over time. Furthermore it examines some studies concerning political participation in Singapore.