China Spends More Money On “Stability Maintenance” Than On It's Military

Chen Guangcheng, the activist at the centre of a diplomatic tussle between China and the US after he escaped house arrest. Photograph: Reuters

Stability Trumps All Other Concerns In China -- Yu Jie, Washington Post

Yu Jie is the author of several Chinese-language books, including “China’s Best Actor: Wen Jiaobo.” He left China in January. This column was translated by Kevin Carrico.

I have known Chen Guangcheng for almost a decade. We met as participants in the State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program in 2003. It brought us both to the United States but also brought us together in our common interests and mission for China.

After our return to China, I put Chen in touch with a number of lawyers and intellectuals involved in human rights work and introduced him to veteran activist Liu Xiaobo. Back then, the three of us still enjoyed a certain degree of freedom. We were able to sit down together, as we did one morning in a bookstore near Beijing University, talking and exchanging ideas for hours.

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My Comment: Stability has always been the "boogie-man" for Chinese politicians and leaders .... a fear that I sometimes wonder if it borders on the paranoia. Fortunately .... Yu Jie nails it in this commentary .... pointing out accurately the link between China's incredible economic growth and this helps the central government to maintain it's version of order.