How free do people feel to express their opinions? A study in urban China

摘要

This article reports the freedom of expression in China using a unique survey to urban residents in the provincial capital cities. The degree of freedom is measured by the respondents' openness about expressing their opinions about the society, the government and public policies. More than half of the people do not feel they can express their views freely. We examine how such freedom is related to the observed government actions and trust of others. We find that perceived corruption significantly inhibits individuals' freedom of expression, while the government's information transparency has a significant positive impact. Trust of other people and the government is positively related to the tendency to express one's opinions freely. We also report the impact of individual characteristics and the freedom of expression across cities.