Asian Angle | Why is Beijing so obsessed with order? It fears the alternative
Never has so much been at stake for China, which explains its ever-tightening grip on society. As its time in the global limelight nears, there can be no room for improvisation, if there ever was
Domestically, China is now pervaded in the political realm by a controlled and controlling uniformity. It seems to stretch across all spaces, from officialdom into academia, and even into people’s private space. The world is full of eyes, watching, from remote spaces, ready to record aberrations, signs of dissent, of disunity.
The Xi era is about achieving great historic goals. The mission to be a strong, powerful country is within reach.
And disobedience, however small, however seemingly insignificant, is treason to this great effort. It could disrupt things. It could set things back. So no matter what, every effort is being made to make sure that such aberrant events don’t occur. I might not like the nervousness, but I do understand it. Never has so much been at stake for China.
With a world outside in increasing disarray and confusion, China’s great moment is more real, and more imminent, than anyone ever expected. In what the French situationist Guy Debord called the “era of the spectacle”, where everything is about how things look rather than how they actually are, the performance of national renaissance and rejuvenation in Beijing and across the country is the crucial thing. The script has been finalised. Everyone needs to know their part. Even the audience have been told when to applaud. There can be no ad-libbing in this great play.
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