The term “Chaoyang Masses,” or chaoyang qunzhong (朝阳群众), is used by Chinese media, local police and internet users to refer to Beijing’s community network of public informants, essentially groups of neighborhood volunteers empowered to monitor their areas for illegal activities as well as breaches of moral and even political norms. While the Chaoyang Masses refers specifically to such volunteer groups within the Beijing district of Chaoyang, the term has gradually come to stand ...
