The success that China has achieved in the last 70 years is unprecedented. However, in order to survive in the future, they must employ and accept new ideas and changes to political, economic and administrative structure.
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October 1, 2019 marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC). In the last seventy years, the PRC has transformed an underdeveloped and regular asian nation into the world's second largest economic superpower, even with a strong and prosperous military within 70 years of time, that's beyond impressive. China is currently playing an important role in many international organisations and has responsible in multilateral organisations. The Chinese government's economic progress has helped alleviate 700 million people out of ages of poverty.
The PRC succeeded in surviving even longer than the USSR (i.e., the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics). Justifying the day, Xi Jinping said, "There is no force that can shake the foundations of this great country. No one can stop China and its citizens from moving forward. ”188 military officials attached to the foreign embassy of China were also invited for the 80-minute long parade to mark the founding day on October 1, 2019". A large contingent of 15,000 troops, more than 160 fighter jets and 580 weapons and other equipment took part in the parade.
However, the PRC, which is in its seventies, faces many challenges such as economic decline and ethnic tensions, for which finding a immediate solution is a matter of life and death.
Economy
Since 1978, under the supervision of Deng Xiaoping, China's economy has implemented many reforms and enabled the PRC for the open economy . Since then, China has been on track to become the world's second largest economy. China is a leading trading partner of many nations around the world. In terms of economic growth, double-digit growth is indicative of economic stability, and economic stability is related to the legitimacy of the Communist Party of China, the CPC. However, the growth figures for 2018 were the lowest since 1990. During the 2019 National People's Congress, Li Keqiang acknowledged that "The Peoples Republic of China must now be prepared to deal with both natural and non-rational natural disasters." At the same time, the ongoing trade war with the United States has further amplified and complicated the country's economic situation.
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The trade war with the United States has forced the CPC (Communist Party of China) to focus on some major economic changes. An economic model that completely dependent on imports can never be a model of sustainable growth and development. With the low rate of growth, when problems like ever rising income gaps, life styles, and unemployment become grave challenge, serious questions will rise their heads out for the future of the CPC and its credibility. The age old policies of the Republic of China ain't going to work any more, the shelf life of those policies and practices are about to expire.
Xinjiang
Under Xi Jingping's leadership, sanctions and oversight of the Muslim community in Xinjiang have been spiked. The government has adopted some new policies to fight the three evil forces of 'terrorism, separatism and extremism'. The Chinese government has reportedly informally confirmed to set up some new detention centres for Uighur Muslims. Ironically, the Chinese government has used the official term "Vocational Education and Training Center" for the detention centres set up for citizens in Xinjiang. According to reports, about 1 million Uyghur Muslim youths are being held in these concentration camps, without their will and any form of mechanism to put forward their thoughts against such detention.
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The "sudden" escalation in the government's policy of "controlling" Xinjiang is a massive increase in detention camps. Over the past five years, the Chinese government has been expanding, closely monitoring and managing its control policy at micro level in the name of protecting civilians, while supporting their actions and claiming that these actions needed to establish peace and stability in the region. The government is now using technology, AI & ML, and state-of-the-art security gears equipment to monitor the movement of Muslims in Xinjiang along with 24/7 monitoring their movements through ground police forces.
Xinjiang has experienced a number of violent incidents in the past that have resulted in heavy casualties and property damage. The forcible merger of Xinjiang has led to a decline in the number of Uighur Muslims. This top-down attempt to control Xinjiang citizens in this way has not been successful enough. Maintaining peace and stability in Xinjiang is an essential part of Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative.
Hong Kong
Many protests have been witnessed in Hong Kong since June 2019. The main reason behind this demonstration is the repeal of the extradition law so that the person with political allegations (apparently political opinion about the Chinese government) can be extradited to China for trial and punishment. However, Chinese official report, that over time, these protests and rebel movements have become anti-government. During theHing Kong agitation, 1,500 people have been arrested in the last four months. This is a big headache for China, as lot get reported through international media and wired to the rest of the west and especially the West.
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The protesters' new demands include the following
- Demonstrations have been described as "riots"; It should be abolished,
- All the arrested protesters should be released , the referendum held for the post of Hong Kong Parliament, Legislative Assembly and Chief Executive Officer and the incident of alleged police violence should be investigated separately.
Just days before the October 1 riots, the government has stepped up restrictions and controls. Some key leaders have also been arrested. However, there are no signs that the protests will end. How the Chinese government handles these developments will pave the way for the PRC's monarchy in Hong Kong.
Conclusion
The success achieved by PRC in the last 70 years is unprecedented. However, they are currently facing a series of challenges, which the Chinese government needs to address urgently. It would not be wrong to claim that many of these problems are internal to Chinese government due to their expansionist approach towards neighbouring nations and forceful control over its own people. If the PRC wants to retain power, it needs to agree that it needs to restructure the party, and its power structure.
While trying to adapt and fit into to the global economic jigsaw, the policy of tightening restrictions on the internal political structure has raised many doubts around the world. Which could pose major challenges to China in near future. The PRC must now acknowledge that its very existence depends on its acceptance of new ideas and changes to deal with new and growing internal ambiguities.
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