In the past two decades, China has endured, together with the rest of the world, two pandemics originating in Guangdong and Wuhan. While the severity and management of these pandemics varied, they both stemmed from the same root cause-the absence of constitutional enforcement and protection of fundamental rights such as freedom of speech and press. In the global village today, especially given China's size and impact, the Chinese constitutional democracy is critical not only for China itself, but also for the whole world.
Largely following China's current (1982) Constitution, this book aims to produce a contemporary "landscape" of Chinese constitutional developments in essentially all major areas. Despite the lack of constitutional enforcement and serious backlashes in recent years, the author believes that the Constitution still matters, as China has achieved significant de facto progress in human rights and the rule of law since its Reform and Opening in 1978. Particularly, increasing number of citizens are becoming aware of their constitutional rights, which they are eager to defend in their interest. Ultimately, the future of China (and the world) depends on the efforts of the people themselves to promote its constitutional reforms and enforcement
