Economic Prosperity keeps Chinese Citizens on Political Leash

Many people witnessing the Egypt protests and the overall Jasmine Revolution are now turning their heads towards China, wondering if they too will rise against government rule. However, they may be stuck waiting for a while due to the fact that citizens of China are held content by the economic prosperity the country has seen thanks to the current regime.

According to an article in The Wall Street Journal, China has the fastest growing economy in the worlds history. China has averaged 10 percent annual growth since 1978 making it now the second largest economy in the world ahead of Japan and behind the United States. Despite the rising costs of food and real estate, citizens are content with recognizing that their country has experienced consistent economic growth and survived the financial crisis that the rest of the world struggled with.

This is not to say that the people of China have not made attempts to rebel, but the government has been extremely tight in cracking down on such efforts and the rebellion has not reached enough power to bring the government to its knees. According to an article in Time Magazine, “When exile democracy groups issued online calls for a Jasmine Revolution to bloom in China on Feb. 20, Beijing launched a furious pre-emptive strike. Dozens of dissidents were detained or forced to “drink tea” with public security agents who warned them against joining any demonstrations.” The Chinese government has also increased internet censors, banning searches for the mandarin words for Jasmine and Egypt.

Any revolution that Chinese citizens attempt must be strong and have enough force to break through the current preventative measures that the government has in place. It is unclear whether the economic status will be enough to continue to pacify the citizens of China. However, the recent spurts of small rebellion suggests that people are getting restless and may eventually join forces to stand up against the government.