Communist china- how far away from this are we

hfallada wrote: »

It's to create artificial domestic demand for goods and services. If you move into an apartment you buy goods such as washing machines, tvs etc creating demand within the economy.

But I was in china over the summer and its incredible all the building. All the apartments are identical and on top of each other. Places like Beijing and Tianjin are already heavily congested but yet the government wants to concentrate growth between the two cities. The subways are both beyond capacity and pollution is unbearable.

Both the biggest challenge is not infastructure. But how do you control such large group of people. China at the moment relies on mass censorship of media and web to control its people. If protest break out in both Beijing and Tianjin. That 40 million people protesting which will spread rapidly to other cities, much quicker than if china was just a group of villages.

There are many cities in china with populations lower than 3 million. It's likely that the government wants people to move there and will provide incentives for that. Shenzhen was the last major push to develop a new city, but there will be pushes to move more west to build up the infrastructure of the country. Xian is already receiving huge inputs of capital to bring it in line with the larger cities. The subway was opened last year, with the second line opened a few months back. There are a number of other lines due to open in the near future and they're pumping in money to make it happen.

The point is that there is more to China than the major cities. There is a lot of manufacturing and agriculture based in smaller cities around the country, and that's where the government will want people to move to.

Lastly, I wouldn't get too bothered about protesting. It happens all the time I. Beijing, Tianjin, and other cities in the north. For the most part, the government and the rest of the population ignores them. Obedience is finely integrated into the minds of people here. Sure, they will complain but if someone in a uniform shouts an order the vast majority will comply.

The censorship in China hasn't been working for the last ten years. VPNs are common, and openly advertised. Websites like weibo, renren, and Wei blog, ensure that rumours are passed on quickly, along with a host of other blogged news. The point is that, for the most part, chinese people will not do anything drastic unless the economy bursts, and they lose the possibility of improving their lives. That carrot will keep people in line for a long time yet, along with filial duty and a desire not to shame their families.