pretty pictures and environmental disasters

govt control; fear is a main factor. people who have lived through the infamous mao years don't want to create problems for themselves and whoever is linked to them (relatives, friends, neighbours etc). besides we both know the govt is corrupted. when you have much of the farming (peasant) population still living as their ancestors did eons ago - despite the massive urban growth we see in the news, do you really have the time or money to protest? you're too busy trying to survive. in my opinion, many simply let things be because they don't want to cause unnecessary trouble or hassle. but that's not to say civil unrest or various organizations don't exist, they do but most are underground and with china being a large country, i don't believe they are united - probably small groups here and there.

btw: you've seen what happened in 1989 with the Tiananmen Square incident.

but you're missing something here.
i'm talking about outright violence and terrorism directed at the government. you pollute our only water supply, you get a bullet in the brain.

why hasn't this happend? tienamen square was a peaceful protest. one met with bullets and tanks. why then haven't they switched tactics to blowing up stuff?

you're talking about a country where everyone snitches on everyone else for personal gain. who's going to fire the first bullet into "the govt" huh? who's going to take that risk? no one really. it's sad but its the truth. chinese people just don't like getting 'involved'. they rather quietly suffer and live with the consequences than to stir up shit. that being said, this is just my personal opinion but i've noticed that here in canada as well. too much was endured years back before they decided (and the majority who decided on action were the local born young chinese/asians) to do something about it.

so what you're saying (correct me if i'm wrong) is that it took a Canadian cultural influence to get them to want (or at least be willing) to fix things?

not necessarily "canadian" - but definitely it took a western influence for things to be changed; an outside opinion to change the original thinking. look, for a country as steeped in tradition as china - it took people such as sun yat sen (btw who was educated in the states, hawaii) to bring in a different mindset and eventual change during the revolutional years in the 1900s for china. it also took anexation (sic) and foreign invasion/influence to reunite the country's people.

if you see it this way, whatever happened to the big sleeping elephant (china) almost a century back - will happen again. it's just different context but the similiarities are there. china was shut from the world for decades and now once more foreign influence is seeping in but they're resisting parts of it (govt censorship, control, propaganda etc). there will be civil uprising but it'll be done differently - perhaps through technology rather than gunpowder. perhaps intellectually this time, rather than through ignorance. rest assured that while minor, such sabotages are accomplished but are shushed up to the public rather than being published on the pages of globe and mail. word of mouth is important to the chinese and key - otherwise, how do you think mao and his illiterate peasants won in the 1940s? not everyone can read but most people can talk and of course, the internet has made the world a much smaller place.