The 55-year-old impoverished Chinese man who lived with his frail 89-year-old mother in this house couldn’t keep his roof on when the windstorm came, and then couldn’t get it back from his wealthy neighbor. Local authorities had previously given him permission to build a new house on his own land, but the neighbor kept blocking its construction.
He complained to authorities, but they did nothing. The system simply didn’t work for him. So he did the only other thing he could think of — he murdered the neighbor. Now, for the first time, the government is taking an interest in him. They’ve offered a reward for his capture, and twice as much for his dead body. Read story here.
Our system isn’t perfect, but it’s way better than this. Communism sucks. Totalitarian regimes aren’t responsive to their citizens’ needs because they don’t have to be. They’re invariably corrupt because nobody can stop them. They can’t be voted out of office. The Chinese communist party has a monopoly on power. The fundamental nature of monopolies is, “We don’t care, because we don’t have to.”
Anyone who knows anything about social dynamics realizes what will happen next. When government is unresponsive or ineffective, or simply not there, and people become desperate enough — as when they can’t even get their own tin roof back from a bullying neighbor — they’ll take matters into their own hands. Like this guy did. Now, millions of Chinese are rooting for him, and hoping he isn’t caught. They relate to his frustration. That tells you everything you need to know about what it’s like to live under China’s system of government.
Hong Kong’s people want no part of it, but they weren’t given a choice. Taiwan’s people, given a choice, overwhelmingly oppose becoming part of China. What if Beijing decides to take the island by force? Should the U.S. come to Taiwan’s aid? Should we bear the costs, burdens, and losses of a war, in order to defend the freedom of Taiwan’s 25 million people? We may have to decide that question someday, perhaps soon.