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Comment by suifbwish | Hacker News Reader

There were emperors in China and many other countries all through the past several thousand years and it is the expectation of the world that they suddenly give up that entire way of life and thinking in one century?

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Yeah bro, there were kings and feudal lords and chieftains and emperors (like Rome) all over the rest of the world for thousands of years too. To say that the Chinese are incapable of democracy because being ruled by an autocrat steadily increasing his own power is their "way of life" is frankly insulting to the Chinese.

The Chinese are one of the most crowded nations for a long long time, and their dynamics, views, priorities and choices are different. Also they have a much different history on social dynamics and outcomes.

Judging their systems and dynamics from our point of view misses the point in some cases.

There's an eye opening video about "The Social Credit System" from CCC (Chaos Communication Conference). Take a look if you have time:

https://media.ccc.de/v/35c3-9904-the_social_credit_system

It's an hour long talk.

The Taiwanese seem to have managed the transition.

Taiwan is not a shining beacon of democracy either. Since the creation of the country in 1949, the total number of parties holding power is: two. For important issues like the geopolitical orientation and the business model of the country - the choice between KMT and DPP is like a choice between Pepsi and Coca-cola

Which is fairly common among democracies. How many parties has held power in the US since 1940?

Are you suggesting the USA is still a democracy rather than a republic or an oligarchy where only the political position of the rich matter?

Why should other countries be capable of it and the Chinese incapable?

There were slaves for thousands of years too, and we ended that pretty quickly.

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