China
Pillar of Shame + BYD's battery innovations
Dear reader,
The Chinese government has successfully intimidated many players in the democratic opposition in the battle between political systems. This happened because the West makes the mistake of measuring strength almost exclusively by numbers and statistics. The People's Republic takes advantage of our one-dimensional view and likes to don the role of the new "superpower". But all too often we forget that there is so much more to strength than just economic growth or a record amount of patents.
Today, Michael Radunski reports about the 'Pillar of Shame', – a monument that was erected in Hong Kong to commemorate the Tiananmen Square Massacre. According to authorities, this artwork apparently poses a threat to the national security of the People's Republic because it preserves the memory of a dark chapter in the history of the Communist Party.
While it has not been torn just down yet, the pillar's days in Hong Kong are numbered. The memorial's imminent removal should remind us that a dictatorship has a great many weaknesses that democratic nations need not fear competing with. A political system that is afraid of its citizens remembering the past, is weak. It denies its history because it dreads the wrath of its people. Western nations should draw confidence from this and show China its boundaries in the battle of political systems.
