“It’s good to smash” – China and the protest problem

Mass incidents: in 1994 — 10k; in 2005 — 87k; today, no longer publicized

Between 1997 and 2002, 35 million urban workers were laid off between, but no major unrest resulted.

…but now we have mobile phones

“if a systematic trigger occurs and instability spreads to a sizable city, we will see the large scale mobilisation of both paramilitary armed police and army units, and possibly substantial bloodshed”

—Victor Shih, assistant professor of political science at Northwestern University in Chicago

…and upcoming anniversaries: the 20th of the Tiananmen protests and the 60th of the People’s Republic