To be honest, the thing that I fear most with China is increasingly serious internal dissent leading progressively to violence not unlike that which we see in Syria. It is of course quite difficult for anyone, even those living in China to take an accurate account of the situation. However, I think a couple of points are fairly uncontroversial: 1. the great majority of Chinese citizens at present do not enjoy as much freedom as do citizens throughout most of Western Europe, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, North America, much of South America, parts of Africa, and India; 2. There are growing disparities in a affluence, particularly between rural and urban areas and between minority ethnicities. Of course, the same can be said about the U.S., but the degree if disparity is I believe more dramatic in the case of China were large portions of the population continue to live in very underdeveloped rural areas; 3. the rule of law is certainly not as transparent and fair as in most of Western Europe or the other parts of the world I just mentioned, and probably quite a bit less so; 4. The state contnues to exert much more influence into individual lives than in most of the rest of the developed world, exemplified in policies such as the one-child policy, but a range of others as well; 5. All of these disparities between the degree of social and political development in China compared to most of the 'free world' contrast sharply with: (a) the general increase in consumerism and lifestyle expectations, if not standards of living in general; (b) the inevitable increase in exposure to the rest of the world among the population of China, despite efforts such as the Great FireWall to block out external influences.
In sum, China is a reforming police state, whose people deserve the the same opportunities for prosperity, freedom and liberty that is enjoyed in the most advanced societies in the world (e.g., Sweden, Switzerland, France, Germany, the U.K., U.S., etc.). The question is really just a matter of how quickly the ruling powers in China can tolerate reforms that keep one step ahead of dissent.
It is my hope that those ruling powers understand that going backwards or slowing the pace of their relinquishment of autocracy are not viable options, and thus the pace of reform in China will continue if not hasten, and thus, China will be an increasingly ethical law-abiding and lucrative trading partner to everyone, helping to boost prosperity and well-being globally.
ADDIT: nonetheless, I believe that increasing unity and solidarity among the rest of the world is in all of our best interests. One does not have to portray China as a looming Commie Menace to appreciate that.
In sum, China is a reforming police state, whose people deserve the the same opportunities for prosperity, freedom and liberty that is enjoyed in the most advanced societies in the world (e.g., Sweden, Switzerland, France, Germany, the U.K., U.S., etc.). The question is really just a matter of how quickly the ruling powers in China can tolerate reforms that keep one step ahead of dissent.
It is my hope that those ruling powers understand that going backwards or slowing the pace of their relinquishment of autocracy are not viable options, and thus the pace of reform in China will continue if not hasten, and thus, China will be an increasingly ethical law-abiding and lucrative trading partner to everyone, helping to boost prosperity and well-being globally.
ADDIT: nonetheless, I believe that increasing unity and solidarity among the rest of the world is in all of our best interests. One does not have to portray China as a looming Commie Menace to appreciate that.
