Rightful resistance

Rightful resistance is contrasted with other forms of popular protest where citizens challenge the legitimacy of rulers; the rightful resister accepts the legitimacy of laws, policies and core values of the state, but protests when they perceive that authorities have failed to deliver on their own promises, or have defied the laws or widely accepted values.

Rightful resisters are characterized by the peaceful nature of their protests, which often make use of institutionalized channels of dissent.

The concept of rightful resistance was initially used to describe protest actions adopted in rural China, where citizens confront a range of grievances stemming from official corruption, environmental pollution, predatory taxes, and economic misappropriation, among others.

To illustrate, O'Brien provides the example of a group of villagers in Henan province facing excessive taxes from local authorities.

[3] Weiquan lawyers typically frame their arguments by making appeals to China's constitution, arguing that abuses of human rights—sanctioned as they may be by the state—are in contravention of the country's laws.