I was going to post this in the comments section of Peking Duck, but it’s slightly more off-tangent than most of the comments. So, I’m bringing it here. Question, is China a police state?
My answer:
China is a police state. It is an authoritarian state, although it could be described in other terms:
… when a totalitarian government gets cozy with large financial and manufacturing concerns, it rings a twentieth century historical bell. I’m thinking how a certain "peoples’ car" - ein Volkswagen - got to start…." PJ O’Rourke (1998).
Jail and torture can be expected for dissidents - in the US they can expect tenure or food stamps.
That China is a ‘police state’ isn’t an issue for me. It’s simply a statement of fact.
The issue is how China should be engaged. It’s not a North Korea or Burma, but it’s not yet a Singapore or Malaysia.
As a pro-engagement person, I think in a decade or two - should all go well - it could be among the latter ’soft’ police states. But it’s not there yet.
Discuss.
June 2nd, 2005 at 10:01 am
The way things are going in China..it only seems logical that after a while people would want more than just economic prosperity. It would be really interesting to see how China as a country would handle that change i.e. Communist -> Democracy. And ofcourse would such a change be peaceful.
June 2nd, 2005 at 11:40 pm
I don’t think Chinese would want sth like anglo-style democracy even when they are better-off. We are more worldly-minded than most westerners suppose. it seems you guys piece together the mindset of Chinese people from web posts. maybe The Importance of Living written by Yutang Lin is more helpful than Internet forums.
June 4th, 2005 at 12:04 pm
I don’t think that you can broadly suggest that “Chinese” people think the same. There is a huge difference between those who live in the cities and those who live in the countries. I think people in Shanghai are worldly minded, I think there are many people who still believe in the party. But those who do not should have a right to raise their voices as well. Democracy is about choices of thought. You can still love the party under a democracy.
June 4th, 2005 at 1:41 pm
For anonymous:
What you say doesn’t make sense, Chinese wouldn’t prefer a democracy even if they were better off? I am pretty sure a lot many believe in the party and the system (they still do in Russia), but it defies logic to believe that a person would prefer a police state instead of a free-fair system. I understand the Realist outlook that there would be apprehension at changin systems especially if it would make China unstable and threaten its economy. But then China is no Russia, its getting richer and powerful and a step towards democracy would only complete that circle, unlike Russia which was losing its power and was a economic mess when the switch happened.
June 4th, 2005 at 9:19 pm
I don’t think communism is a political conviction in China any more. Maybe you would both agree with this:China is a communist country only in name. Communists here comprise an interest group. Those who joined party decades ago seek to make maximum profits from their membership (usu. the membership is a prerequisite to become senior executive in state-owned enterprises, which monopolize insdustries like civil aviation and telecommunication, etc).Well-educated youngsters are joining the party to have a chance to become civil servants, one of the most desirable vocations in term of workload, salary, and benefits. Everyone here know more or less about the corruption of officals and repression on dissidents. But as long as that doesn’t directly threat their livelihood , they would rather focus on feeding their families and giving their children better education. The communist party is shrewd enough to bribe elites and fool farmers. A peaceful step to close the cycle is impossible here. See what happened in 1989? The signal is clear: u utter “no” to the current political system and u got shot. For most Chinese,why should they risk their lives for quacking against the government?
June 7th, 2005 at 10:26 am
As seen in Chile and Taiwan, with an increasingly large middle class - the middle class would go “Why on earth are we keeping a government that won’t let me eat sushi on someone pretty’s body?”. When Internet becomes more popular, the more stark China’s lack of freedom of speech would be.
The middle class is a hard lot to please. Can’t give out a new pork project like you do with the higher class or the lower class. Sooner or later, the middle class would start demanding for a choice.