Brian Gongol
Renewed push for HR 2421
"The Games have been an excuse for the [Communist] party to assert control over an increasingly disparate society"
It positively cannot be forgotten that China has very little history, relatively speaking, as a unified state. And there's a very good chance that it won't be the same unified state ten years from now that we know today; there are simply too many forces at play, just like the ones that tore apart the Soviet Union. So it should come as little to no surprise that the Communist Party has seized upon the Olympics as a rallying point to legitimize all kinds of illiberal behavior. The temporary easing of the Great Firewall of China is a good example: On one hand, the totalitarian government is being forced to bow to pressures brought by technology and openness that they've never had to deal with in such strong measure before. But on the other hand, the president is issuing semi-subtle statements threatening the foreign press about what they should and shouldn't report upon. China is struggling with a huge upheaval -- its economy has overheated, and it's only been economic that seems to have allowed the Communists to repress political freedoms. And the Olympics are going to put a pretty bright light on the country. We should be anything but surprised if things get turbulent in China soon.
