Building the Socialist Alternative (PDF version only)

Documents of the Second Congress of the CWI’s (now International Socialist Alternative) section in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan

The Chinese dictatorship is facing its most serious crisis since the Deng Xiaoping era. The recent financial and stock market turmoil is only the beginning of a process that will shake China and the world in the coming years. Today’s sharp economic slowdown marks the exhaustion of China’s debt-driven ‘state capitalist’ growth model. This coincides with a wider intractable crisis of global capitalism.

In 2014, China’s periphery was shaken by some of the largest mass movements seen in decades: the Hong Kong Umbrella Movement and Taiwan’s Sunflower Movement. Both reflected massive disaffection especially among the younger generation.

This is the political and economic background upon which the documents in this book are based. These documents present a Marxist analysis of the perspectives for China and Hong Kong as well as the organisational tasks facing revolutionary socialists in the region. This material was discussed at the Second Congress of the CWI(now International Socialist Alternative) section in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, held in October 2015.

International Socialist Alternative (formerly CWI) is a socialist organisation with members in 30 countries around the world. It is active in mass struggle against capitalism, austerity and racism, and fights for democratic rights and socialism.