Re: [tlug] GW projects

[Benjamin Kowarsch <trijezdci@example.com>]

On Fri, 1 May 2020 at 02:59, Raymond Wan <rwan.kyoto@example.com> wrote:

But the lockdown of Hubei province represents 60 or so
million people.  So China "wins" in terms of sheer number of
people affected at one time.

Ok, if you want to frame it in this manner you would need to set a

threshold of how many people are to be locked down, or else we

will get into a No-true-Scotsman situation. I would then predict that

you cannot set the number high enough for the statement

"something only China can do" to be true if only because

India has just as large a population as China.

And in fact, that's another counter example, because India

has basically locked down its entire 1+ billion population.

And India is a democracy.

In other words, only India and China could possibly lock down

1 billion people, not because of the form of government they have

but simply because they are the only countries with so many people. ;-)

> When the faeces hit the proverbial ventilator, there is little
> difference between what a Chinese government will do and
> what a Western government will do. Implementation may not
> be as efficient in certain Western countries, but the
> differences in policies are mostly nuances.


Hmmmmm, I probably don't agree with this but it would be
difficult to back up what I say with evidence.

It all comes down to perception and personal bias. For example,

 

I think if we hear about what goes on over in China from
western news sources, we are only getting a fraction.  I
hear a little bit more because I'm fortunate enough to get
some news translated for me (I can't read Chinese myself).
I have heard many things that never made it to western news.

A government that doesn't care about the next election and
which openly prioritizes the majority over the individual
can achieve a lot.

Haha, I think this is entirely upside down.

The Chinese government is in a much worse situation than governments

in democracies precisely because they *don't* have any elections upcoming.

Instead of being worried about the next election, they are *constantly* worried

that some silly thing will spiral out of their control and ignite a rebellion/revolution.

After all, they have no democratic legitimacy. The only legitimacy they have is

a kind of social contract with the population that for as long as they manage

the country in such ways that most of the people feel no reason to rebel,

their government is tolerated. Once that social contract is felt to have

been broken, then all bets are off and hell may break lose.

It is for this reason that the very first thing the Chinese government will do

is denial and counter propaganda while monitoring how effective that is.

Once they recognise that a problem is undeniable and information about

it cannot possibly be contained, they immediately go into the extreme

opposite, overcompensating, throwing everything at the problem.

It is also for this reason that the local and regional governments

will more likely do the denial thing and the central government

will then take over in the event that the situation goes into

the extended head-on overcompensation phase.

The game of the CCP is to stay in power at any cost with whatever

means. And they are constantly scared like no democratic politician

would ever know. If China ever has a revolution, it is not likely to be

peaceful, more likely leading to civil war. And the losers would

almost certainly be hunted down and summarily executed.