Symmetry wrote:I think that he stood for non-violent reform in a one party state that kills detains people who think differently conduct public campaigns to undermine the government.
Many of those within the Chinese government see the collapse of the Soviet Union and following decades of stagnation in Russia as a warning of what happens to countries that attempt to open up their political system too quickly. When people loudly and publicly try to generate political pressure on the Chinese government to undertake similar rapid reforms within China, the government see that as a threat to the country's stability and prosperity. The protest itself is non-violent but the aim of the protester is to overturn the whole system of government, so they (sometimes) get arrested and charged. Just the same as people in the UK can (and have) been arrested for praising terrorist organizations, sending abuse on Twitter, and engaging in various other non-violent acts that threaten to undermine the stability of society.
It's also worth noting that there aren't actually that many people in China who are interested in trying to achieve these sorts of political reforms. Having a government that delivers a strong economy, good living conditions and that appears responsive to people's concerns (e.g. over air pollution or official corruption) is more important to most people than abstract political concepts. The Chinese government gets higher approval ratings than the British, American, French etc. governments, so what's so great about those that makes them worth copying?
Posted: Thu Jul 13, 2017 9:01 pm