A grassroots movement is challenging the rule of the Chinese Communist Party. It's a movement that 100 million Chinese people have now participated in. Few people outside China have heard of it, but it may be playing a key role in determining China's future. Today, we bring you Part 1 of a three-part series on what's called the "Tuidang movement."
This year, the Chinese Communist Party marked its 90th anniversary. And the party has ruled China for nearly 62 years. But a grassroots movement is sweeping the country—and challenging the status quo.
It has millions of participants. But for many reasons, this movement has gone largely unnoticed by the rest of the world.
[Yi Rong, Vice President, Global Quit CCP Service Center]:
"It could be said that this is the biggest movement of spiritual awakening happening for the Chinese people in history."
Scenes like this are seen around the globe—except in mainland China.
Organizers call it the "Tuidang Movement." "Tuidang" means to withdraw from or "quit" the Party. It's made up of people from mainland China and overseas Chinese who are publicly renouncing their ties with the Chinese Communist Party, or CCP.
It started in November 2004. That's when the Chinese edition of the independent newspaper The Epoch Times published an editorial series called "Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party." It presents a rare in-depth analysis of the CCP.
[John Nania, Editor-in-Chief, The Epoch Times (English Edition)]:
"No one else has attempted or succeeded in fully exposing what the Communist Party has done over its decades of existence, in its 60-plus years of rule over China."
