Some Thoughts on the China Situation

The first thing to remember is - despite what SOME people will say - Asian people are NOT all alike.

Even the relatively physically similar Han people of China - the similarities are, in part, to their common ancestry - have distinct differences in different regions.

Culturally, the Chinese citizens of southern China have a completely different outlook than the ones in the north - or, the east or west. The more rural interior of China has different interests than the more commercialized coastal areas. Additionally, China, like America, is simply too big to not have some regional differences - along with dialect, history, and politics.

But, the central government, as well as the educational system and the media, impose a rigid worldview and conformity on the country as a whole. The Chinese expect all to fall in line with the thinking of the Elites.

Bookroomworm has a perspective that I'd not thought about - namely, that China's cultural and political hegemony is intensely resented by nearby Asian nations, and, within its own country, too. That sense of superiority that has often been remarked on does NOT make friends of other cultures. A loss of power would provide economic opportunities for Vietnam, South Korea, and Japan, among others, as well as greater freedom to ally with countries without fear of China's ham-fisted interference.