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The Global Origins of China's Domestic Conflicts
Submitted by Zheng Wang and Vance Crowe of The Diplomat,
There is an interesting phenomenon regarding how the world views China. One day we see China as an enormous global factory, recognizing its global interconnectedness, and the next we view China’s domestic problems, such as the recent terrorist attack in Kunming and tensions in Xinjiang and Tibet, as purely domestic conflicts between one group and another—distinctly separate from the rest of the world. Blaming the ruling party for everything is easy. However, the impact of globalization on China is frequently overlooked, even though it is often more powerful than the force of the Party to some extent. It is true that China has been the greatest beneficiary of globalization, which brought unprecedented wealth and power. However, many people also overlook the high price China paid with its society, environment, and morality for its development.
Globalization divided China into two unequal parts: the successful, aligned and satisfied people on the top, versus the poor, frustrated and marginalized on the bottom. The large-scale outbreaks of social tensions in recent years, including the tensions in Xinjiang and Tibet, should not just be seen as isolated cultural or political battles, but rather should be heard as both the battle cry of China’s new class struggle and as a conflict of globalization. Based on the recent public opinion surveys, Chinese citizens have frequently ranked corruption, pollution, and social tension as their top concerns. In fact, all these issues are directly related to the factors of globalization that have helped China rise. The opportunities brought by globalization have hidden costs.
China’s embrace of globalization has aligned once fractious elites behind a banner of shared economic interest. China’s globalization dividends, including its trade surplus and the world’s highest reserves of foreign currency, have provided the government with huge resources to buy the loyalty of the intellectual and economic elites. Scholars, entrepreneurs, and government officials, who just 25 years prior stood divided in Tiananmen Square, have now found themselves as allies. They have become the stakeholders and co-owners of the new China Inc. People on the top are content, sharing the dividends of their prosperity while harmoniously singing the praises of globalization and the stability of one party rule.
There is reason to celebrate; as China embraced globalization millions of jobs have been created. Wealth among all people in China has increased. Compared with where they were just 20 years ago, even the common people on the bottom have seen their standard of living vastly improve. However, a new problem has emerged: while people on the bottom are better off than in the past, the gap between the rich and the poor, those living in the coastal areas and in the inner provinces (where most minorities live), has grown exponentially. During the prolonged period of economic and social development, everyone’s expectations became heightened. These expectations evolved into frustration when some groups began to rise faster than other groups. Social unrest can be caused by this frustration over growing relative deprivation. The situation is getting even more complicated when some minorities feel the new China Inc. is benefiting the majority Chinese Han and depriving them. The frustration with globalization is behind spreading social tension.
By hitching its fate to the opportunities brought by globalization, China has risen at a roaring speed. However, the real danger for the regime is that it has now become reliant on the speed of economic development. Only if China can maintain its unbridled growth rate can it continue to meet the masses’ expectations regarding employment and a standard of living. Beijing used to call an eight percent GDP growth rate as a “red line” of life or death. During the recent National People’s Congress session, Premier Li Keqiang tried to persuade the delegates to agree to lower the rate to around 7.5 percent. To some extent, Chinese society is now like the bus in the Hollywood movie Speed that must keep moving at a speed of 50 miles per hour; to fall below this speed will explode the bomb sitting just beneath the bus. Beijing is indeed playing a dangerous game.
Globalization has also tied Western leaders to the top of the bus, because a failed China would be catastrophic for the world’s economy. However, staying above the red line means that the wealth gap and socioeconomic marginalization will continue. Unfortunately, this may also mean that conflict will continue, especially when the marginalized have learned that the world will pay attention when violence is the messenger. Neither China nor the rest of the world can ignore this dilemma and paradox; with every “made in China” product we buy we are contributing to this rise in wealth, and the rise in frustration, social tension and air pollution. They are unfortunately coupled together.
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Amurika, 1938.
Kicking people off of their family farms to move to the Urban/Suburban centers to slave for the Kleptoligarchy and CONSUME.
What happened not long after 1938? Oh yeah, World War II.
Ooops!
"They are unfortunately coupled together. "
This is why many see that as a chi-mera.
Peripheral states fighting to become core status.
Well its from the "DIPLOMAT", so you know its going to be PRO TAIWAN, USA ASIAN prison colony bullshit.
Remember TAIWAN is just a CHINESE whore house that the USA left behind, when they ditched the Koumingtang.
>>>
You would think that ZH would offer another flavor of 'ASIAN CULTURE EDUCATION", than CIA/MOSSAD bullshit, ... but NADA going to fucking happen; The unicorns are quite consistent in sourcing their bile.
The Shitlomat.
The DiPOOPlomat
The IPoopYoMat
Yerrow Journarism!
After seeing a couple of their articles posted on ZH, looked into the outfit. Personally, I'd rather read the madcow morning news if the Tylers need filler...
http://www.madcowprod.com/2014/04/01/black-ice-organized-crime/#more-5881
not a bunch of tripe dreamt up by Foreign Policy wannabees/interns.
The article raises good, common sense, points.
With increasing wealth, comes the ability to redress past greivances.
Note Saudi Arabia. All that oil money allowed them to fund terrorists.
You don't think that the idle Chinese with grudges, who know won't starve to death but instead who surf web cafes all day long and spend all their time on a smartphone, won't be trying to get back at whomever?
ZH can do two things with these Diplomat "articles." Either stop posting them altogether.... Or permit someone a rebuttle. It's as if the Obama Administration is allowed to have a mouthpiece on the website. Every single piece from the Diplomat is universally garbage. complete and utter garbage.
You know why I left cable television behind me 25 years ago? Garbage. You know why I stopped watching tv altogther? Garbage. You know why I stopped visiting mainstream media sites online? Fucking.... Garbage.
ZH is trying too hard to be all things alternative. Fine. But if you can't implement a minimum editorial standard for your content.... I'll walk. It's just that fucking simple.
I don't come to ZH to read fucking commie propaganda pieces from dicksucking commies. Start figuring this out, or I'm walking.
The Diplomat, ... ABC MEDIA,.... following the money, follow the ownership.
Incestous google click fest, ... aka unicorn circle jerk.
Hell yes, as a person who spent the past 40 years coming and going from CHINA, its sickens me to read this bile, clearly written by people living in TAIWAN, and not on the Ground in Mainland China.
Taiwan is just a BIG US-MIL base, and nothing more.
*
But its not just "The Diplomat", 100% of all ZH posts are to keep people distracted from the USA. Everyday BASH CHINA, BASH Russia, ... but never a thing about BIS, ICB, GOLDMAN-SACKS, or IMF/UN ownership.
This is NOT education, this is 100% mind fucking dis-information and blogger fatigue, to wear out good people and make them brain dead.
Jimmie, I don't know who these guys are, where they come from or what their agenda is. I don't care. Anyone who writes that Chinese social tensions come from the "recent" rise in China's income inequality has their head so far up their ass they don't deserve the time or effort to figure out what they're trying to say. It's pure unadulterated garbage. ZH wants me to walk away from this site, they suuuuuure have figured out a way to do it.
Don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out.
James, don't enter Zero Hedge with one week and five days under your belt. Acting like a bull in a China shop will do you no good. Look beyond isolated articles to see bigger picture. Learn to watch the carrot and stick, take smaller bites. Food for thought.
"100% of all ZH posts are to keep people distracted from the USA. .....never a thing about BIS, ICB, GOLDMAN-SACKS, or IMF/UN ownership."
Wow, you really cannot read.
[And who the fuck gave you any UP votes will remain a mystery.]
"commie propaganda"
Seriously??? [Or you could read it again.]
"....permit someone a rebuttle."
Oh?! Like, say, a comments section?? Have at it, you friggin whiner.
"It's as if the Obama Administration is allowed to have a mouthpiece on the website."
Yep, I have personally NEVER seen derogatory commentary on the current administration here on Zero Hedge. EVER!
Double post.
Double Secret Duplicate reply.
Ditto to you. What is your agenda?
Chief security enforcer for the
Irish Anti Defamation League
I wish Americans would riot if the growth rate here fell below 8%.
Something missing...What's funny is that The Diplomat isn't even on ZH's reading list...LOL
Ah, the marxist drum begins to beat (human history viewed as a series of class struggles). I don't buy the attempt to scare us. Japan's stagnation did not hold the U.S. back in the 90s though it was the world's #2 economy and growth story, I don't think China's will either. We are not tied to their bus. Our main, and much bigger problems are the wasteful health, education, defense, and financial systems we talk about here all the time.
Anyway aren't all the smart people past the whole wanting to buy mountains of junk thing by now? It's not just wallyworld, it's why the malls are dying too. We all know where retail's going nowadays.
If only the IMF would save us with a world wealth tax to set things right... LOL
I'd propose setting up toilets on the sides of the roads in China and turning the massive amount of inputs into real tangible free energy that all people could use for free or they could give all the free energy to all the American corporations that set up over there, bailed out with your children's future as a way to keep them in China and maintain global democracy.
It's like these diplomat articles are either Tyler's attempt at dry humour, or something more sinister. Is ZH being paid to post these or are they just an 'in joke' for old timers?
Fortunately for me my bullshit detector is still finely calibrated, as I mostly guess, "I bet this is a Diplomat article" just by reading the headline.
*click*
*scroll down*
"Yep, I knew it..."
All the diplomat headlines seem to have a certain 'air' about them... It's the way they so succinctly point out other nation's problems and what 'they' should do about them. Pompous liberal arts drivel...
The writer assumes Tibet is part of China???!
Well gorsh Mickey... do you prefer Tibet Autonomous Region?
@ merchant, please tell what kind of weed did you smoke dude? wanna try some :-)
ok, i'll admit i am slow. the diplomat is satire/sarcasm/irony/sardonic wit.
A great place to continue with the strategy of destabilization and give us WWIII.
more garbage from this publication. You think because they have an Asian commentator, it helps to legitimize this sewage.
Don't forget China's chronic "shitting on the side of the road" issue.
Globalization has also tied Western leaders to the top of the bus, because a failed China would be catastrophic for the world’s economy. However, staying above the red line means that the wealth gap and socioeconomic marginalization will continue...
Bullshit bullshit bullshit.
Every Applez you buy is a teardrop in a Tibetians eye.
Real 7.5% economic growth year-in and year-out is a mathematical impossibility in a finite world. That which can't happen, wont happen. If the Chinese oligarchs are counting on that or telling the masses that premise, it may explain why they're buying so much overseas real estate.