These are gross oversimplifications of modern Chinese society. In fact, the government has been forced to respond and sharply redirect its policies in the face of the popular will. But as long as such images have currency, and as long as Chinese leaders respond to questions about these social problems with their time-honored refusal to explain — “that is an internal affair of our own country” (“zhe shi womenguode neizheng”) — balanced and reliable accounts of modern China will remain hard to come by.
Unable to view this article?
This could be due to a conflict with your ad-blocking or security software.
Please add japantimes.co.jp and piano.io to your list of allowed sites.
If this does not resolve the issue or you are unable to add the domains to your allowlist, please see out this support page.
We humbly apologize for the inconvenience.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.