Bourgeois liberalization
Bourgeois liberalization refers to either parliamentary democracy or Western popular culture. The late 1980s saw the first major usage of the term when a number of campaigns against bourgeois liberalism were initiated lasting till the early 1990s. The term is in active use in Chinese politics, with the Communist Party's Constitution stating party objectives include "combat bourgeois liberalization" in line with the four cardinal principles. According to the Communist Party of China, the concept of bourgeois liberalization was first proposed by Deng Xiaoping, then paramount leader of China, in early 1980s.
Due to the 1986 Chinese student demonstrations, Hu Yaobang, then General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and a leading reformist, was forced to resign from his post by Deng Xiaoping in early 1987. Left-wing conservatives such as Deng Liqun and Hu Qiaomu, under the support of Chen Yun and Li Xiannian, continued to launch the "Anti-Bourgeois Liberalization Campaign" in 1987. However, Zhao Ziyang, then Premier of China and a leading reformist, eventually convinced Deng that the left-wing conservatives took advantage of the campaign to oppose the Reform and Opening-up program. After all, Deng agreed to end the campaign in mid-1987 and supported the on-going political forms. In 2018 the Communist Party of China revised regulations on Party disciplinary action, expelling members from the Party if they openly adhere to bourgeois liberalization online.
