FH at least try to get the facts right!. I have visited China although only once and before the Economic Changes. And no there are only one kind of freedoms that count. The most important of which is to speak your mind without being thrown in jail. Do the Chinese have that right? Of course not. We all know what happened and would happen again tomorrow if Xi decided he needed to take away any perceived rights that the general population has.
You want to throw in other countries to justify the lack of rights that the Chinese people have. Ridiculous! I made no comments on Singapore , Thailand, Japan etc. What rights they have or do not have, has nothing to do with China.
On some level you must know that Xi very simply is a Dictator . Now you might argue , he will be a benevolent Dictator. I would argue there is no such thing . He will be a Thug when he feels the need and the Chinese people can whistle in the wind if they don't like it
Citizens who argue strenuously or maybe just lightly will be thrown in jail, their money taken away and their right to travel eliminated.
Dictators are Dictators and no amount of Lipstick on the Pig will change that fact!
Despots of Communist China
Re: Despots of Communist China
I wonder how that is working out for him???fountainhall wrote:firecat69 - One of those friends, incidentally, produced China’s first openly gay movie with frontal nudity, Lan Yu. This was filmed in 2002 without government sanction and based on a novel published anonymously on the internet. It is widely available in China.
Isn’t it funny? There are freedoms - and there are freedoms!
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/0 ... ate-china/
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Re: Despots of Communist China
That is also my opinion. Why does this man want to rule China for the rest of his life, in effect making himself a king - king with personal power similar to medieval kings, rather than letting the people choose for themselves who they want to lead them? And woe be unto anyone who dares to publicly criticize him or his regime.firecat69 wrote:On some level you must know that Xi very simply is a Dictator . Now you might argue , he will be a benevolent Dictator. I would argue there is no such thing .
Is he trying to do this for the benefit of China - or for himself?
If nothing else, if he is so fabulous for the Chinese people, why doesn't he at least hold a national referendum to let the people decide for themselves whether they want him in power for his entire life? The answer to that question is perfectly obvious to me. A referendum won't even be considered because he knows damned well what the outcome would be. Does anyone truly believe that the Chinese people would vote in favor of him holding his office for life?
Re: Despots of Communist China
Cynicism noted. He happens to be a highly successful entrepreneur with a large art and entertainment business based in Shanghai and a subsidiary office in Beijing!firecat69 wrote:I wonder how that is working out for him???
Re: Despots of Communist China
Amazing to me how some people think they understand a country and more importantly the people they have met because they have been to a country 50 times. It would be impossible for them to understand even in a free society which of course China is the complete opposite of.
I have been to Thailand more then 50 times and lived there for 30 months. I don't understand the country and the people except on more of a surface degree.
However I am smart enough to know I don't understand the country, much less the stress that the citizens may live under or may not.
The only thing I am sure of is that Dictatorships where there is no free press or Written Rights , usually end badly sooner or later.
Xi has the good fortune that the USA elected a Buffoon to the Presidency . But he only has 36 months left and there is now way for him to change the Constitution.
But during the next 36 months the Communists will become richer and expand the sphere of influence based on trade. US has a history of doing what is right but many times not until they have tried all the wrong things.
Hopefully the Western Democracies will not allow China to become so dominant that the world will have to fear for its own rights.
Don't bother telling me that Communist China or China historically has no expansion tendencies. Those who believe that may be doomed to Communist Chinese Dominance.
I have been to Thailand more then 50 times and lived there for 30 months. I don't understand the country and the people except on more of a surface degree.
However I am smart enough to know I don't understand the country, much less the stress that the citizens may live under or may not.
The only thing I am sure of is that Dictatorships where there is no free press or Written Rights , usually end badly sooner or later.
Xi has the good fortune that the USA elected a Buffoon to the Presidency . But he only has 36 months left and there is now way for him to change the Constitution.
But during the next 36 months the Communists will become richer and expand the sphere of influence based on trade. US has a history of doing what is right but many times not until they have tried all the wrong things.
Hopefully the Western Democracies will not allow China to become so dominant that the world will have to fear for its own rights.
Don't bother telling me that Communist China or China historically has no expansion tendencies. Those who believe that may be doomed to Communist Chinese Dominance.
Re: Despots of Communist China
Yes. I do! And you want to know why? Well, let me first ask you a question. Throw off the trappings of western democracy in which you have been cloaked all your life. Imagine you are one of China's 1.4 billion + citizens in a country which for over 2,000 years has only ever known two forms of government - top down Confucian authoritarian rule interrupted by periods of total chaos. A country, moreover, in which the vast mass of the population has only ever known little more than abject poverty.Gaybutton wrote:Does anyone truly believe that [in a referendum] the Chinese people would vote in favor of him holding his office for life?
Democracy means nothing to you because you do not know what it means - what it really means, for you have never been exposed to democratic forces along with the systems which are essential to make democracy function. You live in a country with no political parties, where you know of no one with leadership qualities who could assure you that the country’s economic advances of the last 45 years will continue. Apart, that is, from those whom you know to be the top leadership.
That done, my question is simple - who would you as an average Chinese citizen vote for? I don’t need to answer that. But those who question Xi’s leadership have to come up with an answer. Criticism is easy. But those who criticize can only be taken seriously if they present practical and effective solutions that take into account all the many hugely complex issues present in today’s China.
As for holding office for life, I have already expressed my own concerns. Political commentators are generally divided. Xi has made many enemies through his anti-corruption campaign that, as I have stated, assassination or being forced from office by an internal coup are two possibilities, the more so if he cannot deliver the continuing prosperity and eradicate poverty in the next few years which he has promised. On the other hand, if he does deliver - as Deng and his cohorts delivered - who will raise objections?
As for firecat69s generalizations, I continue to laugh!
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Re: Despots of Communist China
fountainhall wrote:who would you as an average Chinese citizen vote for?
![Image](https://image.ibb.co/bxLgDS/Quayle4.gif)
Ok, maybe China can't do a referendum, but they can certainly find ways of determining the feelings of the people - their genuine feelings. I don't believe for a second these people want to hand over lifetime dictatorial control to Xi or any other individual.
I'll ask point blank. Can you tell me any historical example, even once, when a dictatorship turned out to be held by a "good guy" and it worked out well for the people?
Re: Despots of Communist China
FH
You are good at laughing but never responding which makes us all laugh and I wonder at who?
You are good at laughing but never responding which makes us all laugh and I wonder at who?
- Gaybutton
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Re: Despots of Communist China
Gents, let's please dispense with getting personal with each other and stick to the issue itself.
Re: Despots of Communist China
I can't find yesterday's interview with the FBI Director where he once again brings up the Chinese Student Thieves that attend our Universities for the express purpose of stealing our intellectual property.
Too bad the Chinese don't have anything worthwhile stealing or any Universities that US Students would have any interest in attending.
The most recent article I can find online is attached.
http://www.newsweek.com/china-spies-uni ... ing-806796
Too bad the Chinese don't have anything worthwhile stealing or any Universities that US Students would have any interest in attending.
The most recent article I can find online is attached.
http://www.newsweek.com/china-spies-uni ... ing-806796