[awinter-py]

Crappy rule of law sucks for activists but it's awesome for the construction industry. Anytime you're stuck in traffic next to highway construction in the west, just imagine the chinese coming in with a cement truck and finishing the project overnight.

We're going to see more of this behavior as their economy continues to tank. They're solving a real problem -- how do you explain to 500 million poor people why the gaokao is stacked to stop them moving up?

At least china has a solution. Every large & diverse country is going to be facing this problem within a decade. Rich people are going to have access to some really awesome stuff (VR video games, 10x adderall, stem cell plastic surgery -- you name it) and it won't be a meritocracy.

[dominotw]

The chinese tolerate this because the economy is growing at an incredible pace. They wouldn't risk a revolution( and possibly disrupt the growth)for freedom of speech.

The govt legitimizes its actions by offering improved living standards for everyone.

[awinter-py]

If by 'incredible' you mean 'unbelievable' I agree. Neutral metrics like electricty usage suggest growth is a few points under the official numbers.

I don't agree that suppression of speech is a strategy for increasing growth. It's 100% about suppressing dissent for the 'lifestyles of the rich and famous' that the top CPC officials are living.

The iranians tried suppressing political activity in the 70s and it went sideways -- the ultra-religious were the only people left with the ability to hold political meetings because they overlapped with their prayer sessions, and so the radical clerics took over.

In china, there's probably a group that is under less supervision but not fully sharing the wealth -- maybe the police, maybe the army, maybe the lower tiers of the party. Watch for revolution from this corner.