vadaga wrote:.. if there's nothing to hide, why isn't anybody but the state-controlled media allowed to check?
Check what?
https://freedomhouse.org/country/china/freedom-world/2021
Overview:
'China’s authoritarian regime has become increasingly repressive in recent years. The ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is tightening its control over the state bureaucracy, the media, online speech, religious groups, universities, businesses, and civil society associations,
I don't agree that it has become more repressive. Better controlled. And sure, the internet ande media is more controlled than for 10-15 years ago.
But they really need to do a lot of this. The West, the USA and UK especially, infiltrates religious groups and different associations. This is what they have done for many, many years. Just up to the year 2000, the USA has been involved in 80 regime changes, the vast majority of the overthrown governments were, just like the Ukraine, democratic elected leaders. And it has never become more democratic in those countries, but the opposite.
China does very well to protect itself from the CIA's NED fundings, from UK and other countries that would love to stir up even more trouble and cause more of thousands of deaths than they already have. HK and Xinjiang are only recent examples. Earlier, through many decades the CIA funded terrorists in Tibet and blamed the problems on China. This is very well documented by now.
"The CIA Tibetan Activity consists of political action, propaganda, and paramilitary activity. The purpose of the program at this stage is to keep the political concept of an autonomous Tibet alive within Tibet and among foreign nations, principally India, and to build a capability for resistance against possible political developments inside Communist China."
https://history.state.gov/historicaldoc ... 68v30/d337And the Dalai Lama collaborated with the CIA and received fundings of millions of dollars each compared to inflation, year just to put in his own pockets:
"The cost of the Tibetan Program for FY 1964 can be summarized in approximate figures as follows:"
...
"b.Subsidy to the Dalai Lama—$ 180,000"
....
Total—$ 1,735,000
China should protect itself, they must do this to protect their civillians. They are forced to control the media as the USA funds their "soft wars" more and more every year.
But the freedom of speech and
traditional religious practice is very free in China. The authorities don't really care about what you say or what you believe as long as you don't try to cause a lot of trouble. I know christians, buddhists, muslims and even uighurs in China. They live very good lives and speak up whenever they feel like it.
The CCP leader and state president, Xi Jinping, has consolidated personal power to a degree not seen in China for decades, but his actions have also triggered rising discontent among elites within and outside the party.
That is true. The party itself has different fractions and they don't always get along perfectly well. Of course many love power and want more money. But still, China does a few, far better job controlling political corruption than countries as the USA, Ukraine, or Taiwan if you want to regard it as a country.
The country’s human rights movements continue to seek avenues for protecting basic liberties despite a multiyear crackdown.'
You mean foreign human rights movement, NGO's funded by governments.