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[RedKing]

, if you're burning villages and attacking people as a Buddhist monk, UR DOIN IT WRONG

I dont know why people have this idealized version of Buddhism. It has its own share of fanatical nutcases, just like any of the others.   IIRC there are records of wars between momasteries for doctrinal differences

I know (Ikko-Ikki, etc.). Just feels like they have even less theological justification than Christian monks to engage in genocide. If the world is illusion, why give a fuck what other people are doing if it's not harming others?

[MetalSlimeHunt]

And doctrine can definitely be observed to make a difference in how fanatics act. You don't see any terrorist Jains, their fanatics only commit suicide by malnutrition. And there's a similar thing with Buddhists in the form of those self-mummifying monks.

A lot of the other "eastern" religions at least have the promotion of social order and hierarchy to fall back on, but Buddhism was founded specifically to get away from Hinduism's harsh legalism. All I can think of is that this is just plain sectarian.

[RedKing]

Or ethnic strife masquerading as religious.

[SaberToothTiger]

ptw

[RedKing]

So...this happened.

I've been increasingly disquieted by Xi Jinping over the last couple of years. When he first assumed the office, conventional thought was that he was another relatively bland technocrat that would carry on in the tradition of Hu Jintao or Jiang Zemin.

The first surprise was a series of anti-corruption purges within the Communist Party itself. This cemented the idea of him as a reformer in the minds of many Chinese. But in hindsight, it begins to look like it may well have been "get rid of potential rivals and threats to my powerbase" purges.

There's also been an increasing willingness to flex China's military muscles (through display and moderate provocation, not outright hostility), and a tacit support of nationalist sentiment.

And in the last year or two, there's been a retreat from the pro-market policies of his predecessors, including intervention to stabilize the Shanghai stock market, and less favor shown to the SEZs (special economic zones -- the areas of mostly coastal China where free enterprise is allowed).

Now, this is not without some merit. Wealth disparity in China is an ever-growing problem, as is illegal internal migration (the liudong renkou) to the major cities. Putting the brakes on China's move towards capitalism isn't a bad idea. But Xi seems to be signalling that he not only wants to put on the brakes, but maybe throw it into reverse as well.

And most troubling is the way he seems to be positioning himself as a primarch rather than a "first among equals" oligarch, as Jiang and Hu (and to some extent, Deng Xiaoping) were.

[smjjames]

That's kind of the thing with unelected officials at the top of the political pyramid, someone is sooner or later going to want to consolidate power. Happened since before Caesar.

I saw another article saying that he has attained Mao-like power and the one you linked says that he could very well be 'emperor for life'.

[RedKing]

Well, they are elected, it's just by a relatively small electorate and only after everything has been arranged beforehand so that the vote is merely ceremonial. Not unlike a corporate Board of Directors.

And yeah, Xi seems to be setting the stage for holding on to his position for life, unlike his predecessors who had stepped aside after roughly 10 years each.

[Loud Whispers]

There's also been an increasing willingness to flex China's military muscles (through display and moderate provocation, not outright hostility), and a tacit support of nationalist sentiment.

The Chinese People Liberation Army's Navy carried out exercises in the Baltics for the first time in Chinese history, well, the first time any Chinese naval vessel has really. Proper spicy :]

[redwallzyl]

There's also been an increasing willingness to flex China's military muscles (through display and moderate provocation, not outright hostility), and a tacit support of nationalist sentiment.

The Chinese People Liberation Army's Navy carried out exercises in the Baltics for the first time in Chinese history, well, the first time any Chinese naval vessel has really. Proper spicy :]

The Baltics? That's interesting.

[Loud Whispers]

There's also been an increasing willingness to flex China's military muscles (through display and moderate provocation, not outright hostility), and a tacit support of nationalist sentiment.

The Chinese People Liberation Army's Navy carried out exercises in the Baltics for the first time in Chinese history, well, the first time any Chinese naval vessel has really. Proper spicy :]

The Baltics? That's interesting.

Though they're not ready for it, they want to give the image of China preparing for world power-projection

[RedKing]

I can only imagine how many times they had to make port calls to refuel.

[martinuzz]

On the topic of China, Xi Jinping is consolidating his position.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/24/world/asia/xi-jinping-china.html?_r=0

[smjjames]

He just consolidated power, so, of course there's no designated successor yet. He can take as much time as he wants in deciding on a successor now that he is effectively emperor for life (or at least until he decides he is unable to carry on his duties).

[redwallzyl]

On the topic of China, Xi Jinping is consolidating his position.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/24/world/asia/xi-jinping-china.html?_r=0

It's a bit scary that as the west shoots itself in the foot China gains ground. I would rather the alternative to dysfunctional neoliberal democracy is something that's not an authoritarian police state.

[nenjin]

On the topic of China, Xi Jinping is consolidating his position.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/24/world/asia/xi-jinping-china.html?_r=0

It's a bit scary that as the west shoots itself in the foot China gains ground. I would rather the alternative to dysfunctional neoliberal democracy is something that's not an authoritarian police state.

Maybe that's the reason. With the US president making a buffoon of himself on a daily basis, what better time is there to consolidate your power when no one is likely to listen to him when he starts warning about China.

I mean he basically already beat that drum to death during the elections. So when he "blah blah blah China"'s some more, even if he's right, would anyone listen at this point?

Not saying Trump has some real insight; even a broken watch is right twice a day.