National Review: Just how Stable Is China Right Now?
This is more Jimmy Quinn’s territory, but I look at recent headlines like . . .
- “Chinese Homebuyers Across 22 Cities Refuse to Pay Mortgages”
- “China tries to stem growing anger over frozen bank deposits”
- “Xi Visits Xinjiang Region After Extended Absence from Public Eye”
- “China’s economy shrinks 2.6% during virus shutdowns”
- “China Is Giving Off Strong Lehman Brothers Vibes”
- “China will fare the worst if stagflation strikes, says S&P Global Ratings”
- “China Sees Most Covid Cases Since May as Lockdowns Spread”
- “Shanghai fears new lockdown as millions test for Covid amid sweltering heat”
. . . and wonder just how stable the Chinese economy and Chinese government are these days. The Chinese government, like all authoritarian regimes, requires a narrative of universal competence and wisdom in its leaders, which means the regime can never openly admit a mistake. Everything is always going according to the five-year plan, the state is always right, the leaders are always all-knowing and all-seeing, and any corruption, failures or incompetence that gets exposed is always isolated incidents involving rogue low-level employees.
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Update: China meltdown: Xi Jinping struggles to stop protests as anger against Beijing swells (Express)
WNU Editor: I saw first hand the growing unrest in China during the 1980s that led to the Tienanmen massacre in June, 1989. In today's China the social and economic environment is nowhere near what it was like in the 1980s.
But I am the first to acknowledge that everything can change very quickly. History is full of examples of authoritarian regimes appearing strong and stable right up until they don’t.
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