China: Is it a police state?

drumbrake · 20-01-2015, 10:23 PM

China doesn’t look like a police state. Bustling and prospering, with plenty of artists free to express themselves, and with greater and greater personal freedoms, it looks quite open. But ask Liu Xiaobo whether China is a police state. Ask Ilham Tohti, languishing in prison for the rest of his life, whether it’s a police state. Ask some of those hundreds of activists and civil rights lawyers. There is much more to China than meets the eye. It’s a glorious, wonderful country, my favorite place on earth after the US because its people and its culture are so magnificent. But when you pull the curtain back there is a lot of bad stuff happening, too, and if you only see the good you are not seeing China in its entirety.

The author of that long standing blog does not post much now, but when he does it is usually worth reading. And reading his latest post, which is from a Mainland China perspective, made me realise that what President Xi Jinping is doing there, basically cracking down on all dissent, is what is beginning to happen in Hong Kong. The question, which others such as Hemlock are asking, is whether the Hong Kong Government is doing this to keep Beijing happy, or whether they are doing this because they actually want to.

Cho-man · 20-01-2015, 10:52 PM

Originally Posted by drumbrake:

Peking Duck - Is it a police state?

The author of that long standing blog does not post much now, but when he does it is usually worth reading. And reading his latest post, which is from a Mainland China perspective, made me realise that what President Xi Jinping is doing there, basically cracking down on all dissent, is what is beginning to happen in Hong Kong. The question, which others such as Hemlock are asking, is whether the Hong Kong Government is doing this to keep Beijing happy, or whether they are doing this because they actually want to.

China has a non-democratic authoritarian government, by definition, that requires draconian police powers. So is China a police state? You tell me. Sure, the CCP nowadays may not necessarily whip out the big "hammer" of police repression that frequently or openly, but it is always there, behind-the-scenes. A tourist or visitor to Beijing or Shanghai may not notice their presence, but for a long-term resident, they will know well enough.

As for the HK government, well, it could very well be both, they want to and it makes their masters up north happy...