Mexpatriate has been banned in China.
Well, not just Mexpatriate. All blogs. And Facebook. And YouTube. And Twitter.
Any social networking tool. And for good reason.
China is not so much a Communist country as it is a fascist dictatorship. And, like any dictatorship, it fears its demise.
That governmental fear is everywhere. Police and plain clothes agents scouring Tiananmen Square. A one-child policy designed as much to erode the Chinese family structure as for population control. Prohibition of certain Google search words (like “jasmine” --– as in Jasmine Revolution).
But there are signs of hope. I chatted with a young man who I suspected was a police agent. He brought up the future of the Republic of China (Formosa). I said it would most likely be rejoined with China in his lifetime. He doubted it. Not until, he thought, Red China became more democratic.
That shocked me. And gave me a bit of hope.
When the Communist captivity of central Europe collapsed, many people in China hoped for democratic change in China. We all know the result. Tiananmen Square and three decades of crackdown on political reform.
The middle class has prospered under the current regime. But they would like political freedom, as well. One great fear makes them think now is not the time.
And that fear is what has happened in the recent regime changes in Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt -- where liberal forces have been pushed aside by Islamist parties. The danger in China is not from Ayatollahs -- but from a resurgent Red Guard.
Whatever happens in the future, I know what the present holds. No blogs from China. And that is why I have had to wait to start my Chinese tales.
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So, let’s get to it.
14 comments:
As far back as the early 90s I was making the case for calling China a Fascist State. When state policy favors the owners of manufacturing and the state, over the rights and needs of the population, we have the classic definition of fascism. We live in scary times.
I suspect your definition would apply to most governments despite their political philosophy. What distinguishes China (and Cuba) is that even though the means of production are owned primarily by the state, everything in each country is subordinate to the state. Such is the way of totalitarianism.
Glad you're home safe and sound. I've seen Billie, Richard Lander, and Al and Stew. All have been waiting to hear about your adventures. Me too!
I was taking a class on WWII, Fascism was covered, the prof used this definition: Fascism is a system of government where the state and business have a symbiotic relationship, where the rights and needs of the population are subservient to the needs of the state. Fascism is a very attractive political/economic system for people who like their ducks lined up in a row.
The tales are on their way. I am sitting in the San Francisco airport right now working on a couple of posts.
Political scientists have long had trouble defining the term "fascism" -- stemming from the fact that the traditional fascist governments (Germany, Italy) were merely aberrations of socialism. The means of production were left in private hands, but all economic activity was controlled by the state. Fascism and communism, at their basic levels, are the antithesis of liberty.
That definition hits a little close to home.
I'm curious about the logistics of banning blogs. Is it that you can't connect to the internet at all - or do they somehow block access to certain parts of it?
The reason I use a history guy's definition is because the poli-sci people are unwilling to agree. I fear fascism far more today than I ever did the communists.
Looking forward to more of your take on China.
Welcome back to North America, land of anything goes blogs. Look forward to pictures and stories.
One of my great fears is that the Middle East may slip from secular authoritarianism to a form of Islamic fascism.
It does. But that is one reason I find the definition a bit too broad. By that definition, FDR's New Deal was fascist. And not even I would go that far.
All internet connections in China pass through government-controlled servers. Thus, the government can blank out all blogs, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and other related social networks. The government wants to avoid being the next Libya.
And I look forward to being as "anything goes" as possible.
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