353.3
Re-Thinking Political Trust in China
In this study, we argue that there are at least four key points that need to be considered when using survey data to examine political trust in China. First, the Chinese notion of “Xinren” commonly used in surveys such as the World Values might be different from western concept of “trust”.Second, questions about political values are sensitive, especially in China, and therefore the distrust in interviewers and political fear may lead Chinese citizens to overstate their trust in the authoritarian government. Third, the political system and culture of imperial China could still have an impact on those Chinese respondents who hold traditional values. Fourth, the collectivist nature of Chinese cultures and the cultural tradition of being modest may encourage Chinese people to hide their political values.
Using the Chinese General Social Survey (2005 & 2006), in this study we explore how traditional cultures and interview contexts impact the expression of trust among the Chinese. We distinguish between trusting attitudes and trusting behaviors. We use alternatives to the stand question asking directly how much confidence people have in government,as the measure of political trust. We conclude that trust in government is much lower in China than is suggested by research based on the World Values and other well-known surveys.