"For we may distinguish two main types of government. The first type consists of governments of which we can get rid without bloodshed — for example, by way of general elections; that is to say, the social institutions provide means by which the rulers may be dismissed by the ruled, and the social traditions- ensure that these i nstitutions will not easily be destroyed by those who are in power. The second type consists of governments which the ruled cannot get rid of except by way of a successful revolution — that is to say, in most cases, not at all" ... "the criterion of a democracy is this: In a democracy, the rulers — that is to say, the government — can be dismissed by the ruled without bloodshed Thus if the men in power do not safeguard those institutions which secure to the minority the possibility of working for a peaceful change, then their rule is a tyranny. We need only distinguish between two forms of government, viz. such as possess institutions of this kind, and all others"
https://archive.org/stream/TheOpenSocietyAndItsEnemiesPopper...
This is frequently found in political philosophy that goes well beyond Popper's liberal egalitarianism. It's very strange to see this in the context of a country which is ostensibly (but not actually) democratic, such as China.
In my experience, the only cops who like tear gas are those who never used it. They have a whole barrage of cynical jokes about tear gas (~"It's only weather control device that works - wind will turn 180 degrees a few seconds after you placed the charge.").
EDIT: Disclaimer - got some loads myself during protests but also have riot police in my family.
Some countries use regular pellet guns, for example India in Kashmir with the expected result of a lot of lost eyes.
Actually, no corporations have really commented on the matter as far as I know, so they're not even being hypocritical. There is so much money on the line, it would have to get incredibly bloody before anyone would do anything, so I think China has lots of leeway, and I've seen nothing to indicate they're not incredibly sharp.
That lethal force against protesters leads somehow automatically to breaking down of political support is wishful thinking. Do you really need a list of countries who regularly use lethal force against protesters and are good friends and partners of western governments? When it comes to a state killing protesters all that matters is who the state is.