Chronicles of Modern China
Objective bilingual archive of Chinese history from 1949 to the present
Recent Historical Events
View all →Abrupt End of Zero-COVID Policy
After nearly three years of strict pandemic controls, China abruptly dismantled its zero-COVID policy within days, removing testing requirements, quarantine mandates, and travel restrictions; the sudden reversal led to an uncontrolled Omicron wave estimated to have caused over one million deaths.
SocialWhite Paper Protests
Following a deadly fire in a locked-down Ürümqi apartment block, spontaneous protests erupted across Chinese cities with demonstrators holding blank white sheets of paper as a symbol of censorship; the rare public unrest contributed to the abrupt reversal of the zero-COVID policy weeks later.
Social20th Party Congress: Xi Jinping Secures Third Term
The 20th National Congress confirmed Xi Jinping for an unprecedented third term as General Secretary, filling the Politburo Standing Committee exclusively with Xi loyalists and completing a consolidation of personal power without precedent in the reform era.
PoliticalCommon Prosperity Campaign
Xi Jinping relaunched the concept of "common prosperity," triggering a regulatory crackdown on technology companies, after-school tutoring firms, and celebrity culture, wiping hundreds of billions from listed companies and signalling a shift away from Deng-era growth-first policies.
EconomicChinese Communist Party Centenary
The CPC marked its 100th anniversary with a mass ceremony in Tiananmen Square; Xi Jinping declared China had achieved "complete victory" in eliminating absolute poverty and that the era of being "bullied" by foreign powers was "gone forever."
PoliticalHong Kong National Security Law
Beijing enacted the National Security Law for Hong Kong, criminalizing secession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with foreign forces, following the 2019 protest movement. Critics argued it effectively ended the "one country, two systems" framework.
Political
