Fall of Chinese Communists Possible??

[Stuart G]

This story could do it. What do you think??

Chinese Are Left to Ask Why Schools Crumbled
By JIM YARDLEY--New York Times. 5/25/08

A staggering number of students died as schools collapsed in the May 12 earthquake, and grieving parents are speaking out about shoddy construction.,,,,

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/25/world/asia/25schools.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin


Dictatorships always fall from within. The one child, one family rule, and this story could cause upheaval in this society. It would be a silent, fast moving feeling that could result in some kind of country wide strike that would lead to great change. It has been said that Gorbachev after viewing the remains of buildings that collapsed after an earthquake concluded that the system failed. Great change was needed and that lead to the collapse of the old Soviet Union. He decided that the old corrupt system was not worth defending..

Can the same thing happen here, except that the Chinese people quietly remove this government due to clear understanding it caused those schools to collapse?

[annabanana]

1. I wouldn't hold my breath...

They have NO press freedom, OR access to the unfettered net, and their armies have shown no reluctance to advance on their own people (with that one "guy holding up a line of tanks" exception). . . .

[Stuart G]

3. Because it is a secret society..we will only know after.

the change begins. If it is happening now, we don't know. And remember, the army is after all made up of Chinese Families..I know it is far fetched, but as they say..."Stranger things have happened."

[Deja Q]

2. Well, the rest of the world gripes about shoddy products too!

People have lost pets and people too due to tainted goods. In that respect, it's happening worldwide.

Never mind that with the population of 1.3+ billion people, their government decided a one child policy was a fair way to curb population growth.

[FreakinDJ]

4. Not while their pockets are full of American Dollars

we have been funding the Chinese Communist Government for 15 years now and they are managing their money much better then the US government is

[marmar]

5. I can't wait for the "Fall of American Fascists Possible?" headline......

..... but I'm not holding my breath.

[ileus]

6. It would be nice, but the commies would have no problem killing

more than the quake did to assure their power.

[hokies4ever]

11. Sad but true

[Why Syzygy]

7. 1.5 Billion people could mount a movement.

It wouldn't have to be an all out war. Necessarily.

AP has a story too:

China quake inspires citizens to seek bigger role

By WILLIAM FOREMAN – 18 hours ago

PENGZHOU, China (AP) — Liu Jin was studying law in Shanghai when he heard that an earthquake tore through one of the country's poorest provinces. Moved by scenes of misery, he flew to the disaster zone thousands of miles away to help the victims.

Liu, a 22-year-old student in China's richest city, said his parents "thought the government and military could handle the disaster."

Instead, he joined tens of thousands of volunteers who may be part of a fundamental shift in the world's most populous nation.

In the wake of China's deadliest disaster in a generation, many did not wait for signals from the authoritarian government to act. With money and mobility brought by 30 years of free market reforms, Chinese mobilized spontaneously and headed for the earthquake zone.

It's a switch from the past when people stood on the sidelines waiting for dictates from the Communist Party-led government. They were mobilizing en masse and setting their own agenda — behavior that might be worrisome to a Beijing leadership that still likes to control the public.

Some volunteers organized members of their SUV clubs to deliver food and medicine over rugged roads. Others showed up at Red Cross stations to load trucks with crates of bottled water while chanting, "Go China!" Some sat in hospital rooms with recently orphaned children.

Liu and his classmates helped staff medical tents in the remote mountain town of Bailu. As he bounded over the debris of a wrecked farm house, Liu said the outpouring of volunteers was a historic moment that will change China.

"I think people will unite even better in the future," said Liu.

"We volunteers have made a lot of friends," he said. "If another disaster happens, we'll be able to organize faster in the future."

Such a comment might make the Communist Party nervous. If citizens get savvy about organizing for disasters, they can use the same skills and tools to round up support for an anti-government cause.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gIP_CEl8pr-91lwlIPTeqdEYKuVAD90S5GQ01

[hokies4ever]

8. Tiananmen Square

Read up on it sometime. That government will slaughter its citizens en masse instead of going quietly into the night.

[Stuart G]

9. Is it possible that the "army" is made up of Chinese too?

Many of the Chinese Army have one child families. The loss of that one child, grief, and anger, may sow upheaval. Families often trump government. Could the army not support the government?...Sure it is way out. But this disaster, and the death of these children could bring about this change. Or start a change that could not be stopped.

[hokies4ever]

10. Modern world militaries

are a structured hierarchy designed specifically to prevent this kind of internal insurrection. Didn't the Native Americans chain themselves to their homes, convinced that armies would think twice before the massive wholesale slaughter of them?

Keep in mind that anti-aircraft shells were found after the Tiananmen Square slaughter. Anti-aircraft shells. I think that puts things into perspective quite a bit.

[TreasonousBastard]

12. Yeah, but the central government has already...

done a pretty good job of shifting the blame for that on corrupt local administrations while taking credit for what has been a damn good disaster relief effort.

Ever since Mao was no longer seen swimming in local rivers, the Chinese leadership has become increasingly more pragmatic and is expertly guiding Chinese economic growth while maintaining its own power without falling into the traps that Russia fell into.

Comparisons to Nazi Germany before Hitler went on to war might be apt-- a dictatorship can do amazing things when it wants to. I would just hope that China doesn't end up on the road Nazi Germany eventually took.

Dictatorships have a bad habit of doing that.

[FarCenter]

13. What makes you folks imaginge that the Communist Party is unpopular in China?

Since the death of Mao, the Communist Party has evolved greatly. China is now a single-party, corporatist state that does a good job of growing its economy and bettering the life of its people. The party has also done a good job of harnessing Chinese nationalist pride and patriotism.

The quake may stimulate further reforms, but the notion that it would cause a change in government is pretty far-fetched.