Sunday, June 19, 2011

The Attack Begins...

An extremely long overdue post that was written several months ago. I sincerely apologies for the long absence from posting. Work has been hectic and now that I've found a moment to spare, please enjoy..

For those of you not living in Hong Kong, there has been a series of graffiti attacks in public areas depicting the recently held dissident Ai Wei Wei. With stencil sprays of slogans like "You cannot stop me from telling the truth", this spate of attacks are aimed at expressing artists’ (and any others) dissatisfaction of the Chinese government withholding critics in the recent times.
This social phenomenon seen from a broader perspective shows the increasing discontent from a wider group of the population unhappy about the actions of the government. Through coercion and unlawful detention, the security bureau acts as an engine of dissatisfaction as I have mentioned in a previous blog.
The instability of the government derives primarily from the infighting within the party. The most obvious example is that of Premier Wen Jiaobao. Frequently arguing that the social system is flawed and how human rights and democracy is the way to go, it has generated much debate within the academic field of his intentions. Recently speaking at a conference in Indonesia, he spoke of how a country has two legs with each representing economy and politics respectively. When one is growing faster than the other, it will naturally cause imbalances and instability within the country.
When a government is not elected through popular vote, the political fight is not between parties but within the party itself. Therefore, political instability and the lack of a unified target or vision by a country are caused by the different cliques with the government apparatus. This form of political competition in the end is played at the cost of livelihoods of normal citizens.