Florence Duchet is a graduate in political science and Mandarin from University College London. Her areas of interest include Chinese governance and cross-strait relations and East Asian contemporary art.
China’s political structure is simultaneously simple and dense. As we approach the Party Congress on October 16 — a monumental meeting in which Xi Jinping is expected to begin a third term as leader — let’s lay out some basics about the Chinese government.
The first Beijing 798 Biennale, in 2009, came during a time of hope that the Chinese government would be more permissive of free expression. But the core of the art scene would soon become co-opted and eventually controlled by the state.