China Action / 中国行动

Organization profile. China Action (中国行动) is a U.S.-based nonprofit initiative focused on political transition in China through nonviolent civil resistance, public education, strategic discussion, and support for activist projects. Its website describes the organization as founded by advocates of “modern political civilization” and states that it seeks a democratic political transition through coordinated protest and large-scale nonviolent noncooperation. These political objectives are the organization’s own stated positions, not findings adopted by Free China.

Organization snapshot

Name: China Action / 中国行动
Type: Nonprofit democracy-transition and nonviolent-action organization
Geographic focus: China and overseas Chinese communities
Public website: chinaaction.org
Public contact: office@chinaaction.org
Public web presence: active by 2023; the site copyright notice identifies 2023.
Leadership: The organization does not currently publish a complete leadership roster on its “About” page; its site says the team is still forming.

Mission and approach

China Action states that it seeks to end authoritarian rule in China and establish a free and democratic political system. Its published approach emphasizes coordinated protest, strikes, student strikes and other forms of large-scale nonviolent noncooperation. Its site also publishes institutional principles concerning human rights, judicial independence, constitutional rule of law and local autonomy.

Programs and activities

China Action essay program: In 2023 it jointly launched competitions soliciting essays on opposition to authoritarian rule and plans for mass nonviolent noncooperation. The organization reported receiving 83 entries in one essay category and 57 plans in the noncooperation category.
2024 Washington symposium: It co-organized the January 2024 symposium on civil resistance, high-tech totalitarianism and China’s future with the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation and the Institute for China’s Democratic Transition.
Publications: China Action published collections of selected and award-winning essays from the 2023 competition.
Youth microgrants: Its overseas-youth small-grants program lists eligible projects including nonviolent action, democratic advocacy, organizational capacity, censorship circumvention, training and publications; it explicitly excludes violent action.
Public campaigns: The organization has reported overseas protest and projection actions and has promoted a campaign it calls the “全民反抗运动 / nationwide resistance movement.”

Documented impact and relevance

China Action’s documented role is principally in strategy formation, activist-network convening and project support. Its essay competitions produced a corpus of proposed nonviolent-transition strategies; its 2024 symposium brought together scholars, writers, lawyers and activists to discuss civil resistance and democratic transition; and its grant program provides a mechanism for supporting smaller overseas action and education projects. These activities make the organization relevant to research on contemporary Chinese democracy-movement strategy, especially the shift from general advocacy toward operational discussion of nonviolent mobilization. Public evidence reviewed here does not establish the scale of its membership, funding, or influence inside mainland China.

Organizational relationships

China Action has publicly collaborated with the Institute for China’s Democratic Transition and the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. Its 2023 essay initiative also named Citizen Power, the Chinese Democracy Education Foundation, Democratic China and China in Perspective among participating organizations.

Sources

Last reviewed: September 18, 2026. Inclusion documents public relevance and does not imply endorsement, partnership or membership.