China After the Olympics

The Chinese view their history in terms of dynasties. Periods with a strong central government are referred to as "Golden Ages," while those eras where China was decentralized as considered dark ages. With the fall of the Qing Dynasty, generally given the date of 1911, until the Communist Party's victory over the Nationalists, two warring factions prevented a strong central government from functioning.

Accepting a strong central government does not come naturally to China. It is a large landmass with many diverse groups of people. There are several different languages spoken in the country. I like to make the joke that China has about a billion different dialects. From city to city, you feel like you're in a different country with each stop. None of this is a new phenomenon. If anything, China is slowly becoming more homogenous.

The Qing Dynasty, ruled by a minority ethnic group- the Manchus- had to preserve its culture while at the same time appeasing the dominant ethnic group within China, the Han. The Qing did so by rooting their legitimacy in orthodox Confucianism and rarely imposing Manchu cultural aspects on the wider population of the empire. They kept their culture alive by maintaining the Manchu language and using it to supplement governmental declarations. However, the only cultural aspect that the Manchus imposed was the queue hairstyle. Otherwise, they kept in place some fundamental aspects of Han culture. In addition to the Confucian value of filial piety, the Manchus also kept such ancient institutions as the civil service exam system.

Thus maintaining their distinctness and yet not imposing their culture was a shrewd political tactic and a means of gaining legitimacy in the eyes of the Han. Today, the CCP has a similar task in seeking legitimacy in order to keep all of China within their realm. The CCP's legitimacy rests on the ideology of socialism. They have worked to convince the population to serve the state. Everything one does should be for the betterment of the state. If the Party allowed democracy to flourish, their principle for legitimacy would likely be undermined, which may result in a massive breakup of China.

That is not to place judgment in either direction on the actions of the CCP, but merely to put them into perspective. The Olympics brought people from all over the world to Beijing. It is plausible that the result was an exchange of ideas. Perhaps this exchange will plant a seed of dissent and create an active movement to challenge the government's limitations on free speech in China. But it is important to realize that an unrestricted freedom of speech might very well divide China into lands based on ethnic groups. Whether or not the realization of self-determination among these various groups will have a positive effect for their people is a question for another time. (If you like all this seriousness, check out the new HarazQuack Times - International Edition)