Sunday, April 13, 2008

China's complacent youth

China's economic boom hasn't placated the Tibetans or Uyghurs, but it sure has worked with young urban adults. They have no shame over their nationalistic designs on ethnic minorities, and identify readily with the Chinese state in a pretty collectivist way. I've even noticed it among Americanized Chinese – even ones that I think in any other situation would condemn a nation often start subconsciously spewing the "harmonious" style of argument so favored by the Chinese Communist Party regarding issues of China's territorial integrity (be it Tibet or Taiwan). Despite years of Chinese subservience to the West, it seems a little selfish to be holding on to Tibet or Taiwan when you are the world's most populous nation by far (and would likely be larger if it weren't for the government's absurd reproductive policy). The article goes on to note that today's older generation is much more skeptical of the state, and proposes that this generation will, too, grow out of their reverence once they enter the job market and begin to really see the deficiencies of the state.

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