terça-feira, 29 de novembro de 2022

Mass protests grow in China, as protesters are beaten and dragged screaming

 



Fourth World
November 29th

The most optimistic China-watchers are imagining this to be the beginning of the end for China's long-standing Communist dictatorship. But, although the protesters have broken the fear barrier and are angrily calling for the resignation of Xi Jinping and the end of the single party system, the truth is that the regime has managed things very well when it comes to its own surrvival. That's why they're still here, more than three decades after Tiananmen Square.

Of course, the dictatorship has had to evolve in order to survive. Firstly, by rendering themselves "communist" only in name, whilst embracing capitalism and then by accepting private property as an inevitable result of the change of economic model. The resulting public-private partnership has given birth to the world's first true technocracy. It is a regime that is eyed with envy by Covid tyrants in the West. In a recent interview with a Chinese media outlet, World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab proclaimed China to be a “role model” for other nations.

The marches that have taken place in recent days are a total repudiation of the country's odious “Covid Zero” policy. Whilst the world at large has abndoned the worst of the 'pandemic' restrictions, China continues the spurious testing of geese, fish, and diesel trucks and anything else deemed susceptible to the phantom virus.

Last weekend, hundreds of students gathered at Beijing's Tsinghua University, who were later supported by a large group of protesters who came out in support of the youth. Little by little, the footage is leaking onto social networks in the rest of the world.

According to a variety of anonymous sources, the demonstrations are becoming more and more numerous and more courageous, while the demands for the President's resignation are ever more frequent. In addition to the regime's repression, its enhanced censorship is aggravating tempers. The government digitally altered the TV transmission of the World Cup, so that the mask-free public in Qatar's stadiums could not be seen. That is, viewers see what happens on the playing field, while the stands are shaded.

This censorship attempt, far from having achieved the regime's objective, generated enormous anger in the population, who accessed other images where they could corroborate the reality of the planet beyond China's borders.

Just days ago, a fire claimed the lives of a dozen people who were locked up due to the lockdown policies still in force, and this has exacerbated the people's anger.

The protests come at a particular time for Xi Jinping. At the last congress of the Communist Party, the president decided to retire his predecessor, Hu Jintao, before the eyes of the world. Various analysts saw this removal as a last ditch shot across the bow from Xi Jinping, to intimidate critics of his management. 

How long Xi Jinping can continue to lock down and impoverish China's population, in particular its new middle class that is unaccustomed to such restrictions, remains to be seen. But for now, outside observers should at least acknowledge that what the regime knows best of all is how to preserve its own power. 

 

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