http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asi...ic/6441295.stm

Does anyone think that events like this might be happening on a regular basis, but are covered up?

Anyone also think that the China might collapse as the different ethnic groups become disllushioned with Communism and break away?

I think so......

Hopefully we'll back the righteous side, as opposed to some stupid dictator (which seems to be an American historical precedent )

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I'll tell you this no eternal reward will forgive us now for wasting the dawn
Nothing to kill or die for and no religion too
You may bury my body, down by the highway side,
so my old evil spirit can get a Greyhound bus and ride.

It happens on a regular basis. I don't know how much of it they bother to cover up though.

Still China seems pretty solid. While their may be unrest the government is quite capable of cracking down on things and seems to have a strong base. Also with their economic influence we aren't doing anything to China unless they directly invade someone else (like Taiwan).

And even then it probably depends who the president is at the time.

Yeah,

But imagine the prosperity China is experienc stops? Maybe it's the prosperity that is keeping the country in check, rather than the miltary......

__________________
I'll tell you this no eternal reward will forgive us now for wasting the dawn
Nothing to kill or die for and no religion too
You may bury my body, down by the highway side,
so my old evil spirit can get a Greyhound bus and ride.

Tieniman Square... my chinese friend's parents were still scared to talk about it. They called it "the forbiden square"

Actually where things with China might get exciting is when their one child policy leaves them with, supposedly, 30 million more men than women in 2020.

Historically I believe having a large excess male population means it's time to go to war until you don't.

... maybe they'll colonize space with clones?

C'mon. It's China.

That's one thing Westerners don't know much about. China is actually the protest capital of the world. Although there are no Constitutional protections in place, the people aren't concerned about doing it. The leaders need to worry, but they have ingenius ways to organize protests without the government finding out who they are.

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I wasn't born with enough middle fingers.

TIME magazine had a big article about it last year.

The people they interviewed were basically saying, we are prosperous and making money so we don't worry about the government.


Ixtellor

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George W. Bush "I don't think our troops ought to be used for what's called nation-building"

Blasphemy is a victimless crime.

That's true. If no one told you that China was "Communist" and you went to say, Shanghai, you would not be able to tell. The people spit a lot and smoke 10 packs of cigarettes a day. The air is pretty foul and it's extra crowded, but it's not unlike any other huge Asian city. The people carry about their business with no regard or thought to the government. They go to work, they leave work and party at bars and restaurants. They just live life without interference. The article in Time was exactly what I saw. The reason the people in the cities don't rise up or whatever is because they hardly notice the government at all. In the rural areas the protests are about poverty and rules that seem to favor the cities.

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I wasn't born with enough middle fingers.

But again people, what hapen when the Chinese economy doesn' start performing well? Very short sighted to assume it'll always keep growing......

__________________
I'll tell you this no eternal reward will forgive us now for wasting the dawn
Nothing to kill or die for and no religion too
You may bury my body, down by the highway side,
so my old evil spirit can get a Greyhound bus and ride.