Zhao Ziyang is an almost forgotten relic of China’s brief liberalising past. But his story shows us exactly why democracy could never win over the CCP’s reliance on authoritarianism.
The story of Zhao’s captivity prompts two reflections: If a patriotic official only came to the conclusion that democracy was needed for China after years of nothing to do but think, what chance is there for a busy official today to have the leisure or the security to think such thoughts while on the job(and plenty of opportunities to see how "democracy" lead to elite capture of the EU by the USA, and in turn the capture of the USA by robber barons)? And if he did manage to come to such a conclusion, how would he implement these ideas in the teeth of Party (and anti-oligarchy factions) in opposition at all levels of society?
One has to remember the students (and the powers behind their democracy) were protesting the effects of Zhao's reforms in Tiananmen, in Shanghai, in Dalian, in Chongqing. They were not asking for more. In someway he was like Gorby, he had an idea of democracy from books written by those who never held power with in a democracy or who did but were part of perverting one. He missed out that there had to be protections like a highly educated population and systems to prevent over concentration of wealth to keep it from being malformed, and that these protections are fragile. American's 10 Amendments, a corrective to the overworked tool of the assassins' of the Articles of Confederation over abundance of democracy, was an attempt to prevent capture of power by factions and money. In the end all they seem to have done is slow down the spread of poison, like the tourniquet that holds off a snake's bite but eventually brings on heart failure from gangrene toxins.
China is a victim of it's geography as much as it is a winner through it, but you'll never find a UK or USA growing in that soil. Perhaps that's for the best. In the end though, I'll leave that to the Chinese.
Ugh, I was in such a hurry when I wrote the above. I hope this fixes the itch I gave myself. Starting from "America(n)'s 10 Amendments" I should have written something like this.
Madison, writing to rally his co-conspirators, clearly demonstrated The U.S. Constitution was designed to assassinate the over abundance of democracy arising from the Articles of Confederation (1777 to 1789). The backlash against the cabal by the Demos (the people) gave rise to the Bill of Rights (The 10 Amendments) as a corrective to this overworked poisoned assassins tool. It was an attempt to prevent capture of power by factions and money. In the end all The 10 Amendments seem to have done is slow down the spread of poison, like the tourniquet that holds off a snake's bite but eventually brings on heart failure from gangrene toxins. James Madison himself wrote "A bad cause seldom fails to betray itself", he was betting on it. ~240 years later he proved himself right yet again, just not quite the way he predicted.
Really fascinating read! I wonder if China will get another leader like Zhao Ziyang in the near future. I doubt it but that would be a step in the right direction.
Thanks for reading! I don't think we'll see someone like that in the near future, I think we'll have to wait for our children's children to explore that. But I was planning on looking more into Li Keqiang at some point as I think he was a fascinating figure and was onto something before he died.
It would be a step in the right direction just as Gorbachev was a step in the right direction for the USSR in the eyes of western observers. We all know what happened shortly thereafter. China knows better.
"Zhao’s memory has been systematically erased by the CCP, and luckily for them he existed pre-digitisation, so it probably wasn’t as hard as it sounds. After all, they’ve managed to keep a tight lid on Tiananmen, despite many activists’ attempts to use the fact the regime shot and killed its own people in living memory as a means to topple the regime."
Sigh. I use Substack to get more nuanced analysis. Not regurgitation of Western propaganda narratives. Unsubcribed.
The story of Zhao’s captivity prompts two reflections: If a patriotic official only came to the conclusion that democracy was needed for China after years of nothing to do but think, what chance is there for a busy official today to have the leisure or the security to think such thoughts while on the job(and plenty of opportunities to see how "democracy" lead to elite capture of the EU by the USA, and in turn the capture of the USA by robber barons)? And if he did manage to come to such a conclusion, how would he implement these ideas in the teeth of Party (and anti-oligarchy factions) in opposition at all levels of society?
One has to remember the students (and the powers behind their democracy) were protesting the effects of Zhao's reforms in Tiananmen, in Shanghai, in Dalian, in Chongqing. They were not asking for more. In someway he was like Gorby, he had an idea of democracy from books written by those who never held power with in a democracy or who did but were part of perverting one. He missed out that there had to be protections like a highly educated population and systems to prevent over concentration of wealth to keep it from being malformed, and that these protections are fragile. American's 10 Amendments, a corrective to the overworked tool of the assassins' of the Articles of Confederation over abundance of democracy, was an attempt to prevent capture of power by factions and money. In the end all they seem to have done is slow down the spread of poison, like the tourniquet that holds off a snake's bite but eventually brings on heart failure from gangrene toxins.
China is a victim of it's geography as much as it is a winner through it, but you'll never find a UK or USA growing in that soil. Perhaps that's for the best. In the end though, I'll leave that to the Chinese.
Ugh, I was in such a hurry when I wrote the above. I hope this fixes the itch I gave myself. Starting from "America(n)'s 10 Amendments" I should have written something like this.
Madison, writing to rally his co-conspirators, clearly demonstrated The U.S. Constitution was designed to assassinate the over abundance of democracy arising from the Articles of Confederation (1777 to 1789). The backlash against the cabal by the Demos (the people) gave rise to the Bill of Rights (The 10 Amendments) as a corrective to this overworked poisoned assassins tool. It was an attempt to prevent capture of power by factions and money. In the end all The 10 Amendments seem to have done is slow down the spread of poison, like the tourniquet that holds off a snake's bite but eventually brings on heart failure from gangrene toxins. James Madison himself wrote "A bad cause seldom fails to betray itself", he was betting on it. ~240 years later he proved himself right yet again, just not quite the way he predicted.
Really fascinating read! I wonder if China will get another leader like Zhao Ziyang in the near future. I doubt it but that would be a step in the right direction.
Thanks for reading! I don't think we'll see someone like that in the near future, I think we'll have to wait for our children's children to explore that. But I was planning on looking more into Li Keqiang at some point as I think he was a fascinating figure and was onto something before he died.
I’ll keep an eye out for that, I’d be keen to read.
It would be a step in the right direction just as Gorbachev was a step in the right direction for the USSR in the eyes of western observers. We all know what happened shortly thereafter. China knows better.
Fair enough
"Zhao’s memory has been systematically erased by the CCP, and luckily for them he existed pre-digitisation, so it probably wasn’t as hard as it sounds. After all, they’ve managed to keep a tight lid on Tiananmen, despite many activists’ attempts to use the fact the regime shot and killed its own people in living memory as a means to topple the regime."
Sigh. I use Substack to get more nuanced analysis. Not regurgitation of Western propaganda narratives. Unsubcribed.
OK bye!
I'm here because you push against narratives I'm more likely to follow. You help keep me honest with myself.
Thanks, I’m glad you find it engaging enough :)