How the West got China wrong; It bet that China would head towards democracy and the market economy. The gamble has failed
After the Mao era, things became increasingly unrestricted until the '89 crackdown. A second relative period of relatively lax censorship came in the new century. It has been tightening again since Xi came to power, but arguably still less strict and totalitarian than under Mao.
China is not following a similar path. The CCP has been tightening its grip, and China is arguably less liberal now than it was when Xi took power (for instance: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/25/magazine/the-lonely-crusa...).
The CCP has been much more successful at fusing authoritarianism with capitalism than anyone anticipated.
Sure, and if you give a monkey with a typewriter infinite time, he'll eventually write Shakespeare. The point is, we made the bet 50 years ago and China has only become less free and more totalitarian. How much longer are you willing to wait? If you keep the status quo, you'll just be strengthening the iron-grip of the anti-democracy-at-all-costs CCP party.
> Take Hong Kong as an example, nobody would image such pro-democracy would happen at such a massive scale.
I've only ever heard this line from the CCP propaganda media and biased pro-Beijing people. For most of the world it was a given.
Can you provide any link or evidence that you made the specific bet 50 years ago?
> Sure, and if you give a monkey with a typewriter infinite time, he'll eventually write Shakespeare.
Only impatient and ignorant monkeys think it takes several years to change 1.4 billion people.
US relations with China began in the 1970s during the Nixon administration. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Nixon%27s_1972_visit_t....
> Only impatient and ignorant monkeys think it takes several years to change 1.4 billion people.
It's a matter of willingness, not time. If Xi can create a system to surveil and restrict the free speech of 1.4 billion people in less than 10 years, I'm sure he can create a system of Democracy in even less time than that.
US started diplomatic relationship with China, in order to fight USSR, not to put a bet. USSR was by far the bigger threat and the US and China had a common enemy.
> If Xi can create a system to surveil and restrict the free speech of 1.4 billion people in less than 10 years.
Have you not learned a thing in your whole life? Changing 1.4 billion people's ideology is way way way harder than building a surveillance system.
EDIT: I think you missed my point but I think I should leave you with your rose-tinted glasses on.