thewashingtonstandard--2020-06-04--The Tiananmen Square Massacre: From China’s Authoritarian Roots to the Iconic “Tank Man”

China is often described as the next superpower to top America within the next few decades .
At first glance , such an assertion makes sense .
The country ’ s vast geography , natural resources , rich history , and tech-savvy populace puts it in a position to thrive in the 21st century .
However , China ’ s rise as a superpower is not one of an overnight success , nor is it filled with pretty rainbows .
Indeed , China is one of the world ’ s longest lasting civilizations , with cultural and political traditions that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ effortlessly .
With such a vast history , China had gone through its own zeniths and nadirs .
As is the nature of any civilization .
However , China ’ s modern history has been a rollercoaster ride to say the least .
Despite having a massive formal governing apparatus that would put many empires to shame , China has not always had full control of its territorial jurisdiction .
Once European powers reached Chinese shores in search of riches , they soon wanted their piece of pie .
That meant slowly whittling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first movers in the Age of Exploration , the Portuguese and their missionaries colonized Macau .
Although the Portuguese ’ s venture was not exclusively about riches , it inspired other European actors such as the British to go and exploit China ’ s vast resources .
Naturally , the Qing dynasty and Britain ’ s interests clashed once the British wanted to expand trade inside the country .
What was originally a trade dispute between a Qing government wanting to maintain trade that overwhelmingly favored China , soon turned into a full-blown @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
China was handed a humiliating defeat , which saw it turn over Hong Kong to the British .
This marked a turning point in Chinese history .
The once mighty country slowly deteriorated both internally and externally .
China soon became a punching bag for smaller , yet more militarily advanced countries that started setting up trading outposts in Shanghai .
Indeed , these moves were not welcome by the Chinese and many in the Qing court , but due to the country ’ s decaying institutions , it could do nothing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the Western periphery , like Imperial Russia , started to prey on China when it annexed all of the Chinese land north of the Amur River in 1858 , exploiting Chinese weakness along a border that was , at the time , 4,650 miles long .
As if China ’ s foreign reversals weren ’ t enough , Imperial Japan also jumped in the mix and picked apart China like other European powers .
Japan put the world on notice when it crushed China in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894 .
As @ @ @ @ @ @ @ added the island of modern-day Taiwan , the Liaodong Peninsula , and the Korean peninsula into its sphere of influence .
Japan ’ s exploitation of its weaker mainland rival did not stop there .
Even after the Qing dynasty collapsed , nationalist leader Chiang Kai-Shek tried to put the political pieces back together during the 1920s , in an attempt to unify the country and restore Chinese greatness .
However , Imperial Japan was ready to humiliate China yet again , when it invaded Manchuria in 1931 , and occupied it until @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their industrialization efforts .
All in all , the mid-19th century up until the mid-20th century was a rocky period .
It took game-changing events after World War II for China to finally get its political house in order and build itself up on its own terms .
As foreign powers such as the United States , Germany , Japan , and Russia carved out spheres of influence in the once-mighty empire , the Chinese imperial court began to lose legitimacy both domestically and abroad .
In 1911 , the Xinhai Revolution was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dynasty ’ s back .
Chinese reformers grew tired of their country ’ s weakness and organized revolts across the country that ultimately forced the last Qing emperor , Pu Yi , to abdicate in 1912 .
However , the transition from empire to a modern-day nation-state was filled with many road bumps for China .
Despite political reformer and provisional president of the Republic of China Sun Yat-sen ’ s attempts to modernize the Chinese state , the country was quickly mired in internal struggles that prevented it from forming a coherent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the fall of the Qing dynasty .
Warlord control of the country soon became the norm as many optimistic Chinese reformers then realized the road to Chinese political stability would not come easy .
The Move to Unify the Chinese State By the 1920s , China ’ s political destiny slowly started to change .
It wasn ’ t until the 1920s that movements began to emerge , with hopes to unify China and establish it as a sovereign nation free of foreign exploitation .
The emergence of the Nationalist and Communist movements @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the populace .
Their messages , while ideologically different in economic matters , had a vision of restoring China ’ s rightful place on the world stage .
They viewed the Qing dynasty as corrupt and feckless for allowing European powers and Japan to carve out the country .
For China to be great , it had to be free of foreign influence .
The dream of a unified China nearly became a reality when the Nationalist ( Kuomintang ) movement led by Chiang Kai-Shek ended warlord rule and began consolidating the Chinese @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unified China on both ideological and political lines were temporarily dashed when the Japanese invaded in the 1930s .
The subsequent expansion of World War II to the Asian theater saw the previously dominant Nationalist forces having to fend off Japanese forces .
Such fighting left the Nationalist forces greatly depleted , while their Communist foes pulled their forces in the Chinese interior .
Little did the Nationalists know that once World War II came to an end , they would be up against a replenished and emboldened Communist movement .
And this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down without a fight .
Once the dust settled from World War II , national unity went out the window .
Communist forces under Mao Zedong were ready to duke it out with Chiang Kai-Shek and his Nationalist faction .
So began the second phase of the Chinese Civil War ( 1945-1949 ) .
After four years of hard fighting , the Communists defeated the already depleted Kuomintang in 1949 .
By October 1949 , Mao Zedong ’ s communist government was ready to usher in a new era of consolidated rule in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Republic of China .
In response , the defeated Nationalists scurried to the island of Formosa , which would be renamed as Taiwan or the Republic of China .
Despite China ’ s stubbornness in de-legitimizing the independent nation on the world stage , Taiwan would remain under the thumb of Chiang Kai-Shek until his death in 1975 .
Once in command , Mao was focused on consolidating his internal power and centralizing the Chinese state at the domestic level .
The Chinese leader was not so concerned about expanding China ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as Chairman of the Communist Party .
Once his power was firmly established , he then proceeded to make China an industrial power conforming to principles of central-planning .
China was no longer going to be the pushover that it once was in the latter half of the 19th century .
It was ready to leave its mark on the international stage .
The Chinese story is one of the eternal conflicts between centralized control and violent regionalism , as noted by Jacob L. Shapiro .
Chairman Mao was faced with presiding over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of political violence .
China encompasses such a vast territory , which necessitates large , bureaucratic systems to administer it .
For political purposes , this bureaucracy has helped China maintain control over its jurisdiction in the short and mid-term .
However , in the long-term this bureaucracy would become unwieldy and parasitic .
As a result , high taxation and economic stagnation would follow after this bureaucracy became ingrained in the Chinese political system .
This has been a fixture of China ’ s so-called “ Dynastic Cycle , ” which appeared @ @ @ @ @ @ @ times .
Communist Party elites did not want to become the next generation of leaders who fell victim to this vicious cycle .
Mao despised the Chinese bureaucracy and was able to rip it to shreds when he initially took the helm of the Chinese state .
However , when Mao wanted to embark on the Great Leap Forward – an ambitious program created to rapidly change Chinese industry and agriculture through state planning – he had to come to grips with the reality that he needed a bureaucracy to carry out his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ races China went .
Fearful of Mao ’ s punitive actions , Chinese bureaucrats fudged data in order to placate him .
What seemed like a political maneuver to gain favor within the government , would later turn out to be a disaster for the people living in the countryside .
China ’ s Great Leap Forward experiment was initially marketed as the program to take China to the next level of economic development .
The Great Leap Forward was a concerted effort to collectivize the Chinese economy and hand over the commanding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ property and a market-based price system were cast aside , while the Chinese central planners tried to play god .
But playing god with the economy comes with a massive price to pay .
Even the best central planners are unable to break the laws of economics .
Such heavy-handed interventions in the economy destroyed China ’ s agricultural sector .
In turn , the decimation of Chinese agriculture created famine conditions , which led to the deaths of an estimated range of 20 million to 45 million people .
The casualties suffered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ another tragic case of democide , as the country became another casualty of central planning .
Consequently , Mao Zedong saw his political image tarnished after this failed socialist experiment , which called into question the validity of his political ideology .
But the man-made disaster did not deter him from pursuing other ambitious political programs .
Mao was intent on leaving his political mark in China .
The Cultural Revolution of 1966 to 1976 was Mao ’ s final attempt to impose a top-down program on the Chinese populace .
This ambitious @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and rid Chinese society of subversive bourgeois elements .
However , this social program turned into a wide-scale political purge that hamstrung economic growth and undermined the civil liberties of millions in China .
Like the Great Leap Forward , the Cultural Revolution proved that Mao was too ambitious in socially engineering society according to his grandiose political vision .
With two controversial efforts led by the Chinese state to radically transform the nation ’ s society , China ’ s political class started to become restless .
Even the Communist Party knew @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It was becoming clear that China was on the verge of falling into political chaos .
A new course would need to be taken for the country to advance , lest it become another victim of its well established Dynastic Cycle .
Several leaders in the Chinese Communist Party were ready to step up to the plate .
Politics never occur in a vacuum .
Countries ’ destinies are often shaped by external events , or at the very least , must adapt to international trends .
In its quest to become a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to this .
During the ambitious Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution programs , China was experiencing significant changes in its foreign policy .
Communism may have had a unified vision against the bourgeois classes , but it witnessed numerous splits among countries throughout the 20th century .
National interests often see ideologically similar countries take antagonistic paths .
The Communist sphere was indeed a house divided once the Chinese state was well established and ready to plot its own course .
China ’ s Soviet “ Big Brother ” would soon learn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and pursue its own agenda .
Initially , disputes surrounding debts that China incurred during the Korean War and the border it shared with the Soviet Union caused unrest between the two superpowers .
Many Soviet officials saw Mao ’ s leadership purges as a flashback to the brutal regime of Josef Stalin .
As a result , Soviet leadership became weary of their Communist “ little brother ” down South .
In the same token , the Chinese remembered their exploitation at the hands of the Russian Empire in the 19th century @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in repeating the same predatory relationship with its northern neighbor .
Looking from afar , America took advantage of this geopolitical tension by playing China off of the Soviet Union .
The first concrete step in undermining the Soviet Union was Nixon ’ s visit to China in 1972 , which helped re-establish diplomatic and trade relations between the two countries .
With China now tasting the fruits of international capitalism , albeit to a limited degree , its old economic model of top-down control was on the ropes .
Additionally , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ programs made the more pragmatic elements of the Chinese Communist Party reconsider Maoism .
The economic benefits from restored relationships with America were simply too large to ignore .
On top of that , the Chinese state could capture unprecedented economic benefits from opening up trade with America .
This would enable China to not only grow economically , but also strengthen its governing apparatus .
The Chinese state was then set for new leadership to emerge and continue integrating China into the global market .
The days of Chinese isolation would soon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Political Transformation of Deng Xiaoping ’ s China Once Deng Xiaoping succeeded Mao Zedong , China was poised for national greatness .
Deng acknowledged that Maoism did not bring about its desired results for China , and a new economic program was needed to bring the country back to its feet .
Now that the Communist Party was well entrenched in power and China was able to pacify any internal threats , the country was ready to interact with the outside world on its own terms .
Gone were the days that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Recognizing the failure of central planning , while also taking into account the economic potential China had on the international stage , Deng Xiaoping embarked on a series of bold reforms .
Unlike its humiliating experience of the late 19th century , China was opening up its markets without being the victim of gunboat diplomacy .
Deng ’ s regime enacted certain reforms that brought back market dynamics , albeit in limited form , to the Chinese economy .
Land privatization and the creation of special economic zones helped make China more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to certain reports , China ’ s annual GDP growth rate ranged from 9.5 to 11.5 percent from 1978 to 2013 .
Thanks to these market-based reforms , China ’ s GDP increased tenfold and , as a result , millions of Chinese were lifted out of poverty .
The horrific scenes of the Great Leap Forward soon became a distant memory as skyscrapers dotted illustrious cities like Shanghai , and factories were built left and right to bolster China ’ s breakneck industrial growth .
“ Made in China ” soon became @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prowess , as it flooded the world with basic goods coming out of its factories .
But this could never have been possible without China making an attempt to open up its markets .
As Milton Friedman observed , economic freedom is generally a precondition for political freedom .
When societies see economic freedoms gradually expanded , the new rich and emerging middle classes begin demanding more political freedoms .
As Chinese economic growth soared throughout the 1980s , its citizens demanded more than just economic prosperity .
The death of pro-reform Communist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ caused several disturbances throughout the country .
While on the economic uptick , Post-Mao China was marked by political uncertainty and Hu ’ s death added more fuel to the fire .
Both the general populace and the political elite were rocked by the market reforms of Deng ’ s regime , which benefited some members of the newly rising entrepreneurial class , but still did not satisfy China ’ s humbler citizens .
The ruling elite also faced some questions about political legitimacy .
Some of the concerns centered around corruption , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ freedoms .
China ’ s student class started to demand new freedoms such as democracy , transparency in government , and free speech rights among other things .
Protests started to pop up throughout the country , with the main ones centering around Tiananmen Square in Beijing .
Historically , Tiananmen Square held great significance in Chinese politics .
It was the place where the May Fourth Movement of 1919 occurred , when students ’ protests aired grievances with the Chinese government ’ s tepid response to the Treaty of Versailles , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
This movement helped jumpstart the Chinese Communist and Nationalist movements respectively .
Fast forward 30 years , the Proclamation of the People ’ s Republic of China by Mao Zedong on October 1 , 1949 , took place on Tiananmen Square as well .
This marked the end of the Chinese Communist Revolution ( 1945-1949 ) and ushered in the Communist Party ’ s dominance over Chinese politics .
In 1989 , student protestors sought to use this same square as their platform to make history by demanding the introduction of basic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the right to peacefully assemble against the government – concepts which were unheard of throughout China ’ s long political history .
In the fateful month of April 1989 , they took to the streets in protest .
Indeed , these students made history , but things didn ’ t go as planned for them .
Chinese Leadership Becomes Weary of the Threat of Democratic Reforms Wanting to preserve the Communist Party ’ s political supremacy at all costs , China ’ s paramount leader , Deng Xiaoping , along with his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protests as a political threat .
Wasting no time in responding to these protests , the Chinese government proceeded to use force after the Chinese State Council declared martial law on May 20th , and deployed approximately 300,000 troops to Beijing .
When troops arrived in Beijing on June 4th , they began killing protestors and bystanders .
The Chinese government arrested thousands of protesters , cracked down on other demonstrations in the country , kicked out foreign journalists , censored coverage of the Tiananmen incident in the press , bolstered police powers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be receptive to the protestors ’ cause .
Estimates pin the death toll from several hundred to thousands .
Unsurprisingly , this incident received international condemnation .
However , China ’ s status as a nuclear power and its newfound prosperity positioned it where it could avoid any direct military confrontation from other countries who disapproved of its agenda .
Unlike 19th century China , 20th century China could take bold political actions without the fear of international actors trying to directly attack it .
A day after the crackdown , on June @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most iconic images from the Tiananmen protests emerged .
A man , who would be known as Tank Man or the Unknown Rebel , stood in front of a convoy of tanks leaving Tiananmen Square .
The lead tank tried to maneuver past the man , but was met with nonviolent resistance .
The man repeatedly shuffled in front of the tank to obstruct the tank ’ s path .
After a while , the lead tank stopped in its tracks and the armored tanks behind it stopped as well .
From there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ man and tanks remaining in a standstill .
The video footage then shows the man climbing on top of the tank ’ s turret and chatting with a crew member and the tank ’ s commander .
After having a conversation , the man jumps back down and gets in front of the tank again .
The standoff between the man and tank continued until two figures in blue came out and pulled the man to the side .
To this day , witnesses at this event are unsure about who pulled the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Furthermore , the identity and fate of the man is still unknown , although there has been speculation that he was either executed or fled the country shortly thereafter .
The Tiananmen Square massacre was indeed a turning point in Chinese history .
After an unprecedented liberalization of the economy up until the late 1980s , the Chinese state firmly put the breaks on any type of political reform that would enhance political freedoms .
China showed the entire world that it would put hard limits on freedom , even if it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ governments .
As a sovereign nuclear power , China could proceed with its domestic policy as it pleased , knowing full well that no other world power would try to aggress against it .
To this day , civil liberties that Westerners often take for granted are heavily restricted in China .
Under the leadership of Xi Jinping , China has embarked on one of the most ambitious censorship programs in human history .
Now the Chinese state is even putting Muslim Uighurs in re-education camps , much to the chagrin of international @ @ @ @ @ @ @ remains one of the most heavily censored topics in Chinese political discourse .
The iconic image of the man confronting the tanks is a strong symbol of mankind ’ s eternal struggle to achieve freedom .
Despite its fantastic economic growth , China remains one of the more authoritarian countries in the world .
Just like freedom did not come to the West overnight , basic freedoms will likely take decades before they firmly take root in China .
Until then , the Chinese state remains firm in its hold over the Chinese @ @

China is often described as the next superpower to top America within the next few decades. At first glance, such an assertion makes sense. The country’s vast geography, natural resources, rich history, and tech-savvy populace puts it in a position to thrive in the 21st century. However, China’s rise as a superpower is not one of an overnight success, nor is it filled with pretty rainbows.
Indeed, China is one of the world’s longest lasting civilizations, with cultural and political traditions that have been passed down to succeeding generations effortlessly. With such a vast history, China had gone through its own zeniths and nadirs. As is the nature of any civilization. However, China’s modern history has been a rollercoaster ride to say the least.
Despite having a massive formal governing apparatus that would put many empires to shame, China has not always had full control of its territorial jurisdiction. Once European powers reached Chinese shores in search of riches, they soon wanted their piece of pie. That meant slowly whittling away at Chinese territory. As the first movers in the Age of Exploration, the Portuguese and their missionaries colonized Macau.
Although the Portuguese’s venture was not exclusively about riches, it inspired other European actors such as the British to go and exploit China’s vast resources. Naturally, the Qing dynasty and Britain’s interests clashed once the British wanted to expand trade inside the country. What was originally a trade dispute between a Qing government wanting to maintain trade that overwhelmingly favored China, soon turned into a full-blown conflict as seen in the Opium War.
China was handed a humiliating defeat, which saw it turn over Hong Kong to the British. This marked a turning point in Chinese history. The once mighty country slowly deteriorated both internally and externally. China soon became a punching bag for smaller, yet more militarily advanced countries that started setting up trading outposts in Shanghai. Indeed, these moves were not welcome by the Chinese and many in the Qing court, but due to the country’s decaying institutions, it could do nothing to prevent further predations.
Even empires on the Western periphery, like Imperial Russia, started to prey on China when it annexed all of the Chinese land north of the Amur River in 1858, exploiting Chinese weakness along a border that was, at the time, 4,650 miles long. As if China’s foreign reversals weren’t enough, Imperial Japan also jumped in the mix and picked apart China like other European powers. Japan put the world on notice when it crushed China in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894. As a result of this humiliation, Japan added the island of modern-day Taiwan, the Liaodong Peninsula, and the Korean peninsula into its sphere of influence. Japan’s exploitation of its weaker mainland rival did not stop there.
Even after the Qing dynasty collapsed, nationalist leader Chiang Kai-Shek tried to put the political pieces back together during the 1920s, in an attempt to unify the country and restore Chinese greatness. However, Imperial Japan was ready to humiliate China yet again, when it invaded Manchuria in 1931, and occupied it until 1945, in an attempt to expand their industrialization efforts.
All in all, the mid-19th century up until the mid-20th century was a rocky period. It took game-changing events after World War II for China to finally get its political house in order and build itself up on its own terms.
China: From Powerful Imperial Rule to a Weakened State
As foreign powers such as the United States, Germany, Japan, and Russia carved out spheres of influence in the once-mighty empire, the Chinese imperial court began to lose legitimacy both domestically and abroad. In 1911, the Xinhai Revolution was the final straw that broke the Qing dynasty’s back. Chinese reformers grew tired of their country’s weakness and organized revolts across the country that ultimately forced the last Qing emperor, Pu Yi, to abdicate in 1912. However, the transition from empire to a modern-day nation-state was filled with many road bumps for China.
Despite political reformer and provisional president of the Republic of China Sun Yat-sen’s attempts to modernize the Chinese state, the country was quickly mired in internal struggles that prevented it from forming a coherent political structure in the immediate years following the fall of the Qing dynasty. Warlord control of the country soon became the norm as many optimistic Chinese reformers then realized the road to Chinese political stability would not come easy.
The Move to Unify the Chinese State
By the 1920s, China’s political destiny slowly started to change.
It wasn’t until the 1920s that movements began to emerge, with hopes to unify China and establish it as a sovereign nation free of foreign exploitation. The emergence of the Nationalist and Communist movements in China appealed to nationalistic sentiment among the populace. Their messages, while ideologically different in economic matters, had a vision of restoring China’s rightful place on the world stage. They viewed the Qing dynasty as corrupt and feckless for allowing European powers and Japan to carve out the country. For China to be great, it had to be free of foreign influence.
The dream of a unified China nearly became a reality when the Nationalist (Kuomintang) movement led by Chiang Kai-Shek ended warlord rule and began consolidating the Chinese state. However, hopes of a unified China on both ideological and political lines were temporarily dashed when the Japanese invaded in the 1930s. The subsequent expansion of World War II to the Asian theater saw the previously dominant Nationalist forces having to fend off Japanese forces. Such fighting left the Nationalist forces greatly depleted, while their Communist foes pulled their forces in the Chinese interior.
Little did the Nationalists know that once World War II came to an end, they would be up against a replenished and emboldened Communist movement. And this time around, they would not go down without a fight.
Unifying the Chinese State Under Communism
Once the dust settled from World War II, national unity went out the window. Communist forces under Mao Zedong were ready to duke it out with Chiang Kai-Shek and his Nationalist faction. So began the second phase of the Chinese Civil War (1945-1949). After four years of hard fighting, the Communists defeated the already depleted Kuomintang in 1949. By October 1949, Mao Zedong’s communist government was ready to usher in a new era of consolidated rule in China by declaring the People’s Republic of China. In response, the defeated Nationalists scurried to the island of Formosa, which would be renamed as Taiwan or the Republic of China. Despite China’s stubbornness in de-legitimizing the independent nation on the world stage, Taiwan would remain under the thumb of Chiang Kai-Shek until his death in 1975.
Once in command, Mao was focused on consolidating his internal power and centralizing the Chinese state at the domestic level. The Chinese leader was not so concerned about expanding China’s reach abroad during his first few years as Chairman of the Communist Party. Once his power was firmly established, he then proceeded to make China an industrial power conforming to principles of central-planning. China was no longer going to be the pushover that it once was in the latter half of the 19th century. It was ready to leave its mark on the international stage.
The Omnipresent Chinese Bureaucracy
The Chinese story is one of the eternal conflicts between centralized control and violent regionalism, as noted by Jacob L. Shapiro. Chairman Mao was faced with presiding over a large country with a long history of political violence. China encompasses such a vast territory, which necessitates large, bureaucratic systems to administer it. For political purposes, this bureaucracy has helped China maintain control over its jurisdiction in the short and mid-term. However, in the long-term this bureaucracy would become unwieldy and parasitic. As a result, high taxation and economic stagnation would follow after this bureaucracy became ingrained in the Chinese political system. This has been a fixture of China’s so-called “Dynastic Cycle,” which appeared to rear its ugly head in modern times. Communist Party elites did not want to become the next generation of leaders who fell victim to this vicious cycle.
Mao despised the Chinese bureaucracy and was able to rip it to shreds when he initially took the helm of the Chinese state. However, when Mao wanted to embark on the Great Leap Forward – an ambitious program created to rapidly change Chinese industry and agriculture through state planning – he had to come to grips with the reality that he needed a bureaucracy to carry out his grandiose vision.
Off to the bureaucratic races China went.
The Great Leap Forward
Fearful of Mao’s punitive actions, Chinese bureaucrats fudged data in order to placate him. What seemed like a political maneuver to gain favor within the government, would later turn out to be a disaster for the people living in the countryside. China’s Great Leap Forward experiment was initially marketed as the program to take China to the next level of economic development. The Great Leap Forward was a concerted effort to collectivize the Chinese economy and hand over the commanding heights to the Chinese state. Private property and a market-based price system were cast aside, while the Chinese central planners tried to play god.
But playing god with the economy comes with a massive price to pay. Even the best central planners are unable to break the laws of economics. Such heavy-handed interventions in the economy destroyed China’s agricultural sector. In turn, the decimation of Chinese agriculture created famine conditions, which led to the deaths of an estimated range of 20 million to 45 million people. The casualties suffered during the Great Leap Forward made China another tragic case of democide, as the country became another casualty of central planning. Consequently, Mao Zedong saw his political image tarnished after this failed socialist experiment, which called into question the validity of his political ideology. But the man-made disaster did not deter him from pursuing other ambitious political programs. Mao was intent on leaving his political mark in China.
The Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution of 1966 to 1976 was Mao’s final attempt to impose a top-down program on the Chinese populace. This ambitious political venture sought to re-assert proletarian values and rid Chinese society of subversive bourgeois elements. However, this social program turned into a wide-scale political purge that hamstrung economic growth and undermined the civil liberties of millions in China. Like the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution proved that Mao was too ambitious in socially engineering society according to his grandiose political vision. With two controversial efforts led by the Chinese state to radically transform the nation’s society, China’s political class started to become restless. Even the Communist Party knew that Mao took things too far. It was becoming clear that China was on the verge of falling into political chaos. A new course would need to be taken for the country to advance, lest it become another victim of its well established Dynastic Cycle. Several leaders in the Chinese Communist Party were ready to step up to the plate.
Geopolitical Tensions Create New Openings
Politics never occur in a vacuum. Countries’ destinies are often shaped by external events, or at the very least, must adapt to international trends. In its quest to become a global superpower, China was no stranger to this. During the ambitious Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution programs, China was experiencing significant changes in its foreign policy. Communism may have had a unified vision against the bourgeois classes, but it witnessed numerous splits among countries throughout the 20th century. National interests often see ideologically similar countries take antagonistic paths.
The Communist sphere was indeed a house divided once the Chinese state was well established and ready to plot its own course. China’s Soviet “Big Brother” would soon learn that China was ready to grow up and pursue its own agenda. Initially, disputes surrounding debts that China incurred during the Korean War and the border it shared with the Soviet Union caused unrest between the two superpowers. Many Soviet officials saw Mao’s leadership purges as a flashback to the brutal regime of Josef Stalin. As a result, Soviet leadership became weary of their Communist “little brother” down South. In the same token, the Chinese remembered their exploitation at the hands of the Russian Empire in the 19th century. Naturally, they had no interest in repeating the same predatory relationship with its northern neighbor.
Looking from afar, America took advantage of this geopolitical tension by playing China off of the Soviet Union. The first concrete step in undermining the Soviet Union was Nixon’s visit to China in 1972, which helped re-establish diplomatic and trade relations between the two countries. With China now tasting the fruits of international capitalism, albeit to a limited degree, its old economic model of top-down control was on the ropes. Additionally, the failed Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution programs made the more pragmatic elements of the Chinese Communist Party reconsider Maoism. The economic benefits from restored relationships with America were simply too large to ignore. On top of that, the Chinese state could capture unprecedented economic benefits from opening up trade with America. This would enable China to not only grow economically, but also strengthen its governing apparatus. The Chinese state was then set for new leadership to emerge and continue integrating China into the global market. The days of Chinese isolation would soon come to an end.
The Economic and Political Transformation of Deng Xiaoping’s China
Once Deng Xiaoping succeeded Mao Zedong, China was poised for national greatness. Deng acknowledged that Maoism did not bring about its desired results for China, and a new economic program was needed to bring the country back to its feet. Now that the Communist Party was well entrenched in power and China was able to pacify any internal threats, the country was ready to interact with the outside world on its own terms. Gone were the days that China would be bullied by the West.
Recognizing the failure of central planning, while also taking into account the economic potential China had on the international stage, Deng Xiaoping embarked on a series of bold reforms. Unlike its humiliating experience of the late 19th century, China was opening up its markets without being the victim of gunboat diplomacy.
Deng’s regime enacted certain reforms that brought back market dynamics, albeit in limited form, to the Chinese economy. Land privatization and the creation of special economic zones helped make China more competitive on the international arena. According to certain reports, China’s annual GDP growth rate ranged from 9.5 to 11.5 percent from 1978 to 2013. Thanks to these market-based reforms, China’s GDP increased tenfold and, as a result, millions of Chinese were lifted out of poverty. The horrific scenes of the Great Leap Forward soon became a distant memory as skyscrapers dotted illustrious cities like Shanghai, and factories were built left and right to bolster China’s breakneck industrial growth. “Made in China” soon became a staple of China’s economic prowess, as it flooded the world with basic goods coming out of its factories. But this could never have been possible without China making an attempt to open up its markets.
As Milton Friedman observed, economic freedom is generally a precondition for political freedom. When societies see economic freedoms gradually expanded, the new rich and emerging middle classes begin demanding more political freedoms.
As Chinese economic growth soared throughout the 1980s, its citizens demanded more than just economic prosperity. The death of pro-reform Communist leader Hu Yaobang in April 1989, caused several disturbances throughout the country. While on the economic uptick, Post-Mao China was marked by political uncertainty and Hu’s death added more fuel to the fire. Both the general populace and the political elite were rocked by the market reforms of Deng’s regime, which benefited some members of the newly rising entrepreneurial class, but still did not satisfy China’s humbler citizens.
The ruling elite also faced some questions about political legitimacy. Some of the concerns centered around corruption, employment prospects, inflation, and political freedoms. China’s student class started to demand new freedoms such as democracy, transparency in government, and free speech rights among other things. Protests started to pop up throughout the country, with the main ones centering around Tiananmen Square in Beijing.
The Historical Significance of Tiananmen Square
Historically, Tiananmen Square held great significance in Chinese politics. It was the place where the May Fourth Movement of 1919 occurred, when students’ protests aired grievances with the Chinese government’s tepid response to the Treaty of Versailles, which awarded Japan territories in the Shandong province. This movement helped jumpstart the Chinese Communist and Nationalist movements respectively.
Fast forward 30 years, the Proclamation of the People’s Republic of China by Mao Zedong on October 1, 1949, took place on Tiananmen Square as well. This marked the end of the Chinese Communist Revolution (1945-1949) and ushered in the Communist Party’s dominance over Chinese politics.
In 1989, student protestors sought to use this same square as their platform to make history by demanding the introduction of basic civil liberties – such as free speech and the right to peacefully assemble against the government – concepts which were unheard of throughout China’s long political history. In the fateful month of April 1989, they took to the streets in protest. Indeed, these students made history, but things didn’t go as planned for them.
Chinese Leadership Becomes Weary of the Threat of Democratic Reforms
Wanting to preserve the Communist Party’s political supremacy at all costs, China’s paramount leader, Deng Xiaoping, along with his Communist Party brain trust, perceived the protests as a political threat. Wasting no time in responding to these protests, the Chinese government proceeded to use force after the Chinese State Council declared martial law on May 20th, and deployed approximately 300,000 troops to Beijing. When troops arrived in Beijing on June 4th, they began killing protestors and bystanders.
The Chinese government arrested thousands of protesters, cracked down on other demonstrations in the country, kicked out foreign journalists, censored coverage of the Tiananmen incident in the press, bolstered police powers, and purged officials it believed to be receptive to the protestors’ cause. Estimates pin the death toll from several hundred to thousands.
Unsurprisingly, this incident received international condemnation. However, China’s status as a nuclear power and its newfound prosperity positioned it where it could avoid any direct military confrontation from other countries who disapproved of its agenda. Unlike 19th century China, 20th century China could take bold political actions without the fear of international actors trying to directly attack it.
The Birth of Tank Man
A day after the crackdown, on June 5, 1989, one of the most iconic images from the Tiananmen protests emerged. A man, who would be known as Tank Man or the Unknown Rebel, stood in front of a convoy of tanks leaving Tiananmen Square.
The lead tank tried to maneuver past the man, but was met with nonviolent resistance. The man repeatedly shuffled in front of the tank to obstruct the tank’s path. After a while, the lead tank stopped in its tracks and the armored tanks behind it stopped as well. From there, a short pause began with the man and tanks remaining in a standstill.
The video footage then shows the man climbing on top of the tank’s turret and chatting with a crew member and the tank’s commander. After having a conversation, the man jumps back down and gets in front of the tank again. The standoff between the man and tank continued until two figures in blue came out and pulled the man to the side. To this day, witnesses at this event are unsure about who pulled the “Tank Man” to the side. Furthermore, the identity and fate of the man is still unknown, although there has been speculation that he was either executed or fled the country shortly thereafter.
China’s Authoritarianism Lives On
The Tiananmen Square massacre was indeed a turning point in Chinese history. After an unprecedented liberalization of the economy up until the late 1980s, the Chinese state firmly put the breaks on any type of political reform that would enhance political freedoms. China showed the entire world that it would put hard limits on freedom, even if it meant receiving stiff criticism from Western democratic governments. As a sovereign nuclear power, China could proceed with its domestic policy as it pleased, knowing full well that no other world power would try to aggress against it.
To this day, civil liberties that Westerners often take for granted are heavily restricted in China. Under the leadership of Xi Jinping, China has embarked on one of the most ambitious censorship programs in human history. Now the Chinese state is even putting Muslim Uighurs in re-education camps, much to the chagrin of international human rights observers. The Tiananmen incident remains one of the most heavily censored topics in Chinese political discourse.
The iconic image of the man confronting the tanks is a strong symbol of mankind’s eternal struggle to achieve freedom. Despite its fantastic economic growth, China remains one of the more authoritarian countries in the world. Just like freedom did not come to the West overnight, basic freedoms will likely take decades before they firmly take root in China.
Until then, the Chinese state remains firm in its hold over the Chinese populace.
Written by Jose Nino
Article posted with permission from Ammo.com


thewashingtonstandard--2020-06-04--DOJ Launches Investigation As More Evidence Emerges That Someone Is Orchestrating Violent Riots

The Department of Justice has announced that it is attempting to determine if there is a “ coordinated command and control ” behind the violent riots that have erupted all over the United States .
In recent days , officials all over the country have used words such as “ organized ” and “ organizers ” to describe the orchestration that they have been witnessing in their respective cities .
And all over the U.S. , law enforcement officials have reported finding huge piles of rocks and bricks pre-staged at protest locations in advance , and scouts have often been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ police are not present .
In addition , something that we have been hearing over and over again is that many of the people that are involved in the violence are not known by any of the locals .
At this point , the evidence appears to be so overwhelming that some sort of national coordination is taking place that the Department of Justice has decided to launch a formal investigation… Federal law enforcement officials are probing whether “ criminal actors ” are coordinating violent activities during protests and are looking into reports @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been dropped off to throw at police and other law enforcement as cities across the country grapple with the uptick in violence , a senior Department of Justice official said .
“ You see the hallmarks… We ’ re trying to see if there ’ s a coordinated command and control , you see those bread crumbs and that ’ s what we ’ re trying to verify , ” said the Department of Justice official .
The orchestration of the violence appears to be most advanced in major cities such as New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the NYPD , “ caches of bricks & rocks ” have been strategically placed all over the city during the past several days… Of course , it is entirely possible that someone is buying bricks for the rioters , but Shea has pointed out that several construction sites in the city have had bricks stolen from them… So it would appear that someone has been stealing bricks and leaving them in pre-staged piles for the rioters .
But at this point , we don ’ t know precisely who is doing this or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trouble .
It is also being reported that teams of looters armed with power tools are systematically working together to loot one location after another in New York City .
The following is how one eyewitness described what she has been witnessing… One of the numerous police reports from eyewitnesses came from Carla Murphy , who lives in Chelsea .
Murphy , in an interview Tuesday , said she started hearing commotion from mobs of people along her street and neighboring streets about 10:30 p.m. Monday night .
She first watched from her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ street and saw organized groups of people working together to break in to store after store in the West Side neighborhood .
“ Cars would drive up , let off the looters , unload power tools and suitcases and then the cars would drive away , ” she said .
“ Then the cars would come back pick them up and then drive off to the next spot .
They seemed to know exactly where they were going .
Some of the people were local , but there were a lot of out-of-towners.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ few angry protesters smashing a few windows .
This is organized crime at a very high level , and these people know exactly what they are doing .
Meanwhile , more evidence of coordination continues to emerge in other major cities as well… And for several more examples of this sort of orchestration , please see the article that I posted a couple of days ago .
It appears to be obvious that some sort of coordination is taking place , but now federal authorities are faced with the daunting task of trying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ According to Fox News , Justice Department officials are hoping to find “ ways in which we can exploit phones and data communications that could give us a mosaic to see if there ’ s a coordinated command and control , that ’ s what we ’ re looking for.
” It is believed that social media is being heavily used to direct the movement of rioters and looters , and that would mean that there should be digital trails for investigators to follow .
Needless to say , many Americans believe that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the violence , and a brand new Rasmussen Reports survey has found that 49 percent of all U.S. voters believe that it should be declared a terror organization… Hopefully , those responsible for the violence will be discovered and brought to justice because what we have been witnessing over the past week has been absolutely horrible .
Unfortunately , the level of anger in this country is likely to continue to rise the closer we get to election day , and more eruptions of violence are likely in the months ahead .

The Department of Justice has announced that it is attempting to determine if there is a “coordinated command and control” behind the violent riots that have erupted all over the United States. In recent days, officials all over the country have used words such as “organized” and “organizers” to describe the orchestration that they have been witnessing in their respective cities. And all over the U.S., law enforcement officials have reported finding huge piles of rocks and bricks pre-staged at protest locations in advance, and scouts have often been used to direct rioters to locations where police are not present. In addition, something that we have been hearing over and over again is that many of the people that are involved in the violence are not known by any of the locals. At this point, the evidence appears to be so overwhelming that some sort of national coordination is taking place that the Department of Justice has decided to launch a formal investigation…
Federal law enforcement officials are probing whether “criminal actors” are coordinating violent activities during protests and are looking into reports that “rocks and bricks” have been dropped off to throw at police and other law enforcement as cities across the country grapple with the uptick in violence, a senior Department of Justice official said. “You see the hallmarks… We’re trying to see if there’s a coordinated command and control, you see those bread crumbs and that’s what we’re trying to verify,” said the Department of Justice official.
The orchestration of the violence appears to be most advanced in major cities such as New York. According to the head of the NYPD, “caches of bricks & rocks” have been strategically placed all over the city during the past several days…
The New York Police Department’s top cop is calling out “organized looters,” who he says are “strategically” leaving piles or buckets of debris on street corners citywide. “This is what our cops are up against: Organized looters, strategically placing caches of bricks & rocks at locations throughout NYC,” NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea wrote in a Wednesday morning tweet, along with a video showing four blue boxes filled with gray debris.
Of course, it is entirely possible that someone is buying bricks for the rioters, but Shea has pointed out that several construction sites in the city have had bricks stolen from them…
“Pre-staged bricks are being placed and then transported to ‘peaceful protests,’ which are peaceful protests, but then used by that criminal group within,” he said. “We’ve had construction sites burglarized in recent days in Manhattan … during a riot, it’s interesting what was taken – bricks.” Shea explained how bricks had previously been thrown at NYPD members in the Bronx, and water bottles filled with cement have also been used as weapons.
So it would appear that someone has been stealing bricks and leaving them in pre-staged piles for the rioters.
But at this point, we don’t know precisely who is doing this or why they are going to so much trouble.
It is also being reported that teams of looters armed with power tools are systematically working together to loot one location after another in New York City. The following is how one eyewitness described what she has been witnessing…
One of the numerous police reports from eyewitnesses came from Carla Murphy, who lives in Chelsea. Murphy, in an interview Tuesday, said she started hearing commotion from mobs of people along her street and neighboring streets about 10:30 p.m. Monday night. She first watched from her building and then went down to the street and saw organized groups of people working together to break in to store after store in the West Side neighborhood. “Cars would drive up, let off the looters, unload power tools and suitcases and then the cars would drive away,” she said. “Then the cars would come back pick them up and then drive off to the next spot. They seemed to know exactly where they were going. Some of the people were local, but there were a lot of out-of-towners.”
This isn’t just a few angry protesters smashing a few windows.
This is organized crime at a very high level, and these people know exactly what they are doing.
Meanwhile, more evidence of coordination continues to emerge in other major cities as well…
In Tampa, there were reports that members of the bomb team found mortars in bushes downtown, and bricks and other items were hidden in trash cans to throw at police officers. In Seattle, a video out up online by an anarchist shows that around midnight, a crowd of 100-150 nearly all-white agitators with umbrellas started throwing bottles at police.
And for several more examples of this sort of orchestration, please see the article that I posted a couple of days ago.
It appears to be obvious that some sort of coordination is taking place, but now federal authorities are faced with the daunting task of trying to prove who is behind it.
According to Fox News, Justice Department officials are hoping to find “ways in which we can exploit phones and data communications that could give us a mosaic to see if there’s a coordinated command and control, that’s what we’re looking for.”
It is believed that social media is being heavily used to direct the movement of rioters and looters, and that would mean that there should be digital trails for investigators to follow.
Needless to say, many Americans believe that “Antifa” is behind much of the violence, and a brand new Rasmussen Reports survey has found that 49 percent of all U.S. voters believe that it should be declared a terror organization…
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 49% of Likely U.S. Voters think the “antifa” movement should be designated a terrorist organization. Thirty percent (30%) disagree, while 22% are undecided.
Hopefully, those responsible for the violence will be discovered and brought to justice because what we have been witnessing over the past week has been absolutely horrible.
Unfortunately, the level of anger in this country is likely to continue to rise the closer we get to election day, and more eruptions of violence are likely in the months ahead.
Article posted with permission from Michael Snyder


thewashingtonstandard--2020-06-05--New York & California Freed Thousands of Criminals & the Riots Began

New York City released over 2,650 criminals from prison to protect them from the pandemic .
But they didn ’ t stay home or wash their hands .
They went back to their old jobs and 100 of them accounted for 190 arrests for crimes like burglary and robbery .
A rapist was released and he went back to raping .
One of the freed criminals was responsible for 18 burglaries at closed eateries .
And when he was arrested , the end of bail meant that he was set loose .
This looting was going on long before the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and looters rule the streets of Manhattan , when the police manage to arrest them , they have to quickly let them go .
“ When it comes to a burglary , a commercial store , which is looting , they ’ re back out , ” Chief Terrence Monahan said .
“ Because of bail reform , you ’ re back out on the street the next day .
You can not be held on any sort of bail.
” Of the 650 thugs arrested , almost all will be released back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ again .
Los Angeles County released about 5,000 criminals accounting for around a third of imprisoned criminals .
And with no bail , arrested criminals were set loose and then arrested again .
In the first 30 days of the experiment , 213 criminals were rearrested again after being put back on the street .
Sacramento County ’ s jail population fell 30 % , Orange County ’ s prison numbers dropped by 45 % , Detroit ’ s jail population dropped by 40 % , Philadelphia ’ s by 17 % , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Massachusetts freed 1,000 criminals while Illinois freed around 4,000 .
Dallas released 1,000 criminals and Hennepin County , the home of the riots that went on to sweep major cities , reduced its prison population by 44 % .
What impact did the hundreds of released criminals have on kickstarting the riots ?
It ’ s no coincidence that some of the areas hardest hit by the rioting and the looting had also opened up their prisons to protect inmates from contracting the coronavirus .
Despite apocalyptic predictions from policymakers and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in prisons or ICE detention facilities .
But the critical mass of criminals out on the street left police in major cities hopelessly outnumbered .
That was all part of the plan .
While not all the criminals returned to their trade , even those who wanted to go straight had few jobs waiting for them in locked down cities and states that were already suffering from massive unemployment and where the businesses that might have employed them had been shut down .
Not all of the released criminals returned to crime , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Even before the pandemic , state and federal pro-crime legislation pushed by lefties and libertarians had dramatically cut the numbers of criminals being safely held behind bars .
New York City ’ s prison population had dropped from over 25,000 in 2016 to just under 20,000 in 2019 .
The end of bail meant that criminals never even bothering showing up for trial .
And Mayor Bill de Blasio tried to bribe them to come to court with free movie tickets and gift cards .
Even before the riots , there had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The attacks have just reached a critical mass in the Black Lives Matter riots .
Anyone who was closely reading the crime numbers could have predicted the mass looting outbreak .
With massive numbers of criminals on the loose , major crimes rose 12 % .
Car thefts shot up 65 % , robberies went up by 25 % , and burglaries rose by 22 % .
Burglaries of businesses in New York City had shot up 75 % by April .
This was slow-motion looting .
If you understand that then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ targeting stores , smashing and grabbing their way through countless businesses , falls into place .
The mass looting was not a shocking new development , it was just the existing criminals going public .
The Black Lives Matter riots provided cover for Antifa violence and for organized criminal gangs and individual opportunistic looters , many of whom had been released because of leftist activism .
In 2006 , California had over 165,000 criminals safely locked away .
By 2017 , the state was down to 115,000 criminals , in part due to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state to release tens of thousands of criminals into the street .
Statewide crime rates slowly began ticking up .
Crime rates jumped in 2012 , after the Supreme Court ’ s unconstitutional ruling , and in 2015 , after George Soros ’ Proposition 47 : Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act .
The name meant the exact opposite of what it actually did , effectively legalizing retail theft .
The more discreet version of looting .
After each mass jailbreak , crime went up .
Violent crimes shot up from 151,425 before Proposition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Property crime rates were where the real action was , not only rising , but defying nationwide downward trends .
While the rioters cry for more pro-crime measures , demanding the defunding of the police , less prosecution , and more criminals freed from prison , that ’ s exactly what caused the riots .
New York and California aren ’ t being devastated because of mass public outrage , but because they freed the criminals who are tearing New York City and Los Angeles apart .
And they want the rest of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ same rabbit hole until there isn ’ t a single safe place left in America .
The mass riots and looting are the direct result of freeing thousands of criminals while crippling law enforcement and the justice system .
Past upticks in crime rates had been hidden with statistical games and by tainting the system from the bottom up , by defining crime reporting down at the precinct level , to the top , refusing to bring charges against criminals or pleading them down to next to nothing .
Even as people felt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ authorities kept telling them that crime was falling .
The riots tore apart that lie .
No one feels safe after watching mobs ransack neighborhoods and assault police .
But the media and the authorities have replaced that lie with another lie , falsely portraying the riots as a mass uprising against racism , when they ’ re really a plot by a small group of radicals and racists , while freed career criminals are doing much of the work of actually wrecking the cities .
Black Lives Matter and Antifa have touched @ @ @ @ @ @ @ police forces .
And it ’ s working .
Demoralized cops are given a bad choice between arresting motivated rioters or chasing down looters , while knowing that everyone they arrest will out by the next day so that it really doesn ’ t matter .
The riot endgame will move the war to the next stage with more mass releases of criminals , more crippled police forces , and even less prosecutions .
And the next wave of riots will be even worse .
There will be another viral video , more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ riots .
Each set of riots will include demands that if met will lead to worse riots in the next stage of the conflict .
This is the same old playbook that the Left has used effectively for well over a century .
The myth of law enforcement racism is being used to dismantle police forces and open up the prisons .
The released criminals become witting or unwitting shock troops for violent confrontations that tear apart society and build up the political power of the radicals who can turn the violence on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ way forward .
Conservatives must work to reverse the pro-crime policies of leftists and libertarians .
As the nation experiences curfews and people huddle in their homes , there is no way to escape the truth that if we don ’ t lock up the criminals rampaging in the street , we will be the ones in jail .
Right now , Black Lives Matter and Antifa , and more importantly , their backers from the Democrat Party to the media to academia , are holding a gun to the head of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ worst part of it is that we gave them the gun and put the bullets in it when we began freeing criminals .
Law and order is the only way to take the gun away .
Locking up the criminals disarms the Left .

New York City released over 2,650 criminals from prison to protect them from the pandemic. But they didn’t stay home or wash their hands. They went back to their old jobs and 100 of them accounted for 190 arrests for crimes like burglary and robbery. A rapist was released and he went back to raping.
One of the freed criminals was responsible for 18 burglaries at closed eateries. And when he was arrested, the end of bail meant that he was set loose. This looting was going on long before the riots.
Now, as the rioters and looters rule the streets of Manhattan, when the police manage to arrest them, they have to quickly let them go.
“When it comes to a burglary, a commercial store, which is looting, they’re back out,” Chief Terrence Monahan said. “Because of bail reform, you’re back out on the street the next day. You cannot be held on any sort of bail.”
Of the 650 thugs arrested, almost all will be released back on the street to riot and loot again.
Los Angeles County released about 5,000 criminals accounting for around a third of imprisoned criminals. And with no bail, arrested criminals were set loose and then arrested again. In the first 30 days of the experiment, 213 criminals were rearrested again after being put back on the street.
Sacramento County’s jail population fell 30%, Orange County’s prison numbers dropped by 45%, Detroit’s jail population dropped by 40%, Philadelphia’s by 17%, and Denver’s by 41%. Massachusetts freed 1,000 criminals while Illinois freed around 4,000. Dallas released 1,000 criminals and Hennepin County, the home of the riots that went on to sweep major cities, reduced its prison population by 44%.
What impact did the hundreds of released criminals have on kickstarting the riots?
It’s no coincidence that some of the areas hardest hit by the rioting and the looting had also opened up their prisons to protect inmates from contracting the coronavirus. Despite apocalyptic predictions from policymakers and the media, there were no mass deaths in prisons or ICE detention facilities. But the critical mass of criminals out on the street left police in major cities hopelessly outnumbered.
That was all part of the plan.
While not all the criminals returned to their trade, even those who wanted to go straight had few jobs waiting for them in locked down cities and states that were already suffering from massive unemployment and where the businesses that might have employed them had been shut down.
Not all of the released criminals returned to crime, but the riots provided the perfect opportunity.
Even before the pandemic, state and federal pro-crime legislation pushed by lefties and libertarians had dramatically cut the numbers of criminals being safely held behind bars. New York City’s prison population had dropped from over 25,000 in 2016 to just under 20,000 in 2019. The end of bail meant that criminals never even bothering showing up for trial. And Mayor Bill de Blasio tried to bribe them to come to court with free movie tickets and gift cards. Even before the riots, there had been violent mob attacks on NYPD officers. The attacks have just reached a critical mass in the Black Lives Matter riots.
Anyone who was closely reading the crime numbers could have predicted the mass looting outbreak.
With massive numbers of criminals on the loose, major crimes rose 12%. Car thefts shot up 65%, robberies went up by 25%, and burglaries rose by 22%.
Burglaries of businesses in New York City had shot up 75% by April.
This was slow-motion looting. If you understand that then what happened in Manhattan with organized gangs targeting stores, smashing and grabbing their way through countless businesses, falls into place. The mass looting was not a shocking new development, it was just the existing criminals going public.
The Black Lives Matter riots provided cover for Antifa violence and for organized criminal gangs and individual opportunistic looters, many of whom had been released because of leftist activism.
Free the criminals. Organize riots. Watch cities burn.
In 2006, California had over 165,000 criminals safely locked away. By 2017, the state was down to 115,000 criminals, in part due to an unconstitutional Supreme Court decision ordering the state to release tens of thousands of criminals into the street. Statewide crime rates slowly began ticking up.
Crime rates jumped in 2012, after the Supreme Court’s unconstitutional ruling, and in 2015, after George Soros’ Proposition 47: Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act. The name meant the exact opposite of what it actually did, effectively legalizing retail theft. The more discreet version of looting.
After each mass jailbreak, crime went up.
Violent crimes shot up from 151,425 before Proposition 47, to 178,553 in 2017. Property crime rates were where the real action was, not only rising, but defying nationwide downward trends.
While the rioters cry for more pro-crime measures, demanding the defunding of the police, less prosecution, and more criminals freed from prison, that’s exactly what caused the riots.
New York and California aren’t being devastated because of mass public outrage, but because they freed the criminals who are tearing New York City and Los Angeles apart. And they want the rest of the country to follow them down the same rabbit hole until there isn’t a single safe place left in America.
The mass riots and looting are the direct result of freeing thousands of criminals while crippling law enforcement and the justice system. Past upticks in crime rates had been hidden with statistical games and by tainting the system from the bottom up, by defining crime reporting down at the precinct level, to the top, refusing to bring charges against criminals or pleading them down to next to nothing.
Even as people felt less safe, the media and the authorities kept telling them that crime was falling.
The riots tore apart that lie. No one feels safe after watching mobs ransack neighborhoods and assault police. But the media and the authorities have replaced that lie with another lie, falsely portraying the riots as a mass uprising against racism, when they’re really a plot by a small group of radicals and racists, while freed career criminals are doing much of the work of actually wrecking the cities.
Black Lives Matter and Antifa have touched off the riots and looting to overwhelm police forces. And it’s working. Demoralized cops are given a bad choice between arresting motivated rioters or chasing down looters, while knowing that everyone they arrest will out by the next day so that it really doesn’t matter.
The riot endgame will move the war to the next stage with more mass releases of criminals, more crippled police forces, and even less prosecutions. And the next wave of riots will be even worse. There will be another viral video, more manufactured outrage, and even more devastating riots. Each set of riots will include demands that if met will lead to worse riots in the next stage of the conflict.
This is the same old playbook that the Left has used effectively for well over a century.
The myth of law enforcement racism is being used to dismantle police forces and open up the prisons. The released criminals become witting or unwitting shock troops for violent confrontations that tear apart society and build up the political power of the radicals who can turn the violence on or off.
There is only one way forward. Conservatives must work to reverse the pro-crime policies of leftists and libertarians. As the nation experiences curfews and people huddle in their homes, there is no way to escape the truth that if we don’t lock up the criminals rampaging in the street, we will be the ones in jail.
Right now, Black Lives Matter and Antifa, and more importantly, their backers from the Democrat Party to the media to academia, are holding a gun to the head of the United States of America. But the worst part of it is that we gave them the gun and put the bullets in it when we began freeing criminals.
Law and order is the only way to take the gun away. Locking up the criminals disarms the Left.
Article posted with permission from Daniel Greenfield


thewashingtonstandard--2020-06-05--California:  Shocking Video Show Cops Doing Drive-By Shooting In The Back With Rubber Bullets On Tee

California:  Shocking Video Show Cops Doing Drive-By Shooting In The Back With Rubber Bullets On Teens

Los Angeles , CA — There is so much police violence against citizens unfolding in America right now that it is impossible to cover all of it .
The effects of such rampant violence — while certainly horrifying to those experiencing it — also serves to desensitize the rest of the country to it .
TFTP has reported on multiple instances that should be on the front page of every major outlet , but there are literally so many of them , that it is impossible to break through the divisive chatter in the mainstream .
For example , 13 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conducting a drive-by shooting at kids walking down a sidewalk in their neighborhood — allegedly enforcing a 7:00 p.m. curfew — this would be a national conversation .
Instead , it ’ s been reduced to a blurb in local media and buried by countless other stories .
Instead of seeing why something like this is a problem — which is why people are currently in the streets — Joe Sixpack remains mentally captured by the narratives fed to him through the divisive mainstream .
The right regurgitates their narrative of all the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the opposite .
In reality , however , the truth is not polarized and is multifaceted .
The truth is that some people claiming to be protesters are doing some horrific things like beating innocent people and in some instance , killing them .
Also , the truth is that cops are doing some horrific things like beating innocent people and killing them too .
Neither of the situations is okay but to ignore one while focusing on the other only serves to add to your confirmation bias , ensuring that the actual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chooses to focus on the crimes of the state as crimes by individuals are usually punished and not carried out under the protection of qualified immunity or some other legal doctrine that serves to protect those who carry out violence in the name of government .
The following video below is a perfect example of said violence .
According to witnesses , the following footage was taken in the area of Fountain and Highland avenues .
In the video , we can see a deputy with the Los Angeles County Sheriff department leaning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” fashion before opening fire on a group of teens on the sidewalk .
We have no way of knowing what transpired prior to this shooting .
However , nothing the officers are doing is within department policy .
As the group turns and runs , pepper balls are seen exploding on signs and cars before rubber bullet gun shots can be heard .
It was a scene out of a dystopian fiction , but it was real and happened in the land of the free .
After the video was posted to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a statement on Wednesday , but did not discuss the incident specifically .
“ I am aware of two videos circulating on social media involving my deputies , ” he said .
“ As with all use of force incidents , these cases will be thoroughly investigated , and we will also examine the facts , policies & procedures.
” “ As I have stated before , this is another example of why we so desperately need the Board of Supervisors to fully fund the LASD body-worn camera project .
The public deserves @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I encourage any bystander ( s ) who may have captured the entire incident ( s ) , particularly the events which led up to the incident ( s ) , to contact the @ LASDHQ.
” Villanueva also discussed the use of less-lethal weapons during civil unrest during an interview with KTLA on Wednesday morning , saying : “ They only should be used when the need is there .
Obviously , if you ’ re tasking rocks and bottles in a confrontation , there ’ s no politically correct way to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being assaulted , but with a deadly weapon , ’ he said .
“ I expect the deputies to defend themselves and , however , they can do so with less-lethal force , which is the whole idea of the rubber bullets here , rubber batons .
These are 40 mm , 37 mm , the pepper balls ; all these different devices are designed to get someone ’ s attention without injuring them.
” As you watch the video below , as cops conduct a drive-by shooting on kids , the deputies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anything .
Below is that disturbing footage perfectly illustrating why people are protesting .

Los Angeles, CA — There is so much police violence against citizens unfolding in America right now that it is impossible to cover all of it. The effects of such rampant violence — while certainly horrifying to those experiencing it — also serves to desensitize the rest of the country to it. TFTP has reported on multiple instances that should be on the front page of every major outlet, but there are literally so many of them, that it is impossible to break through the divisive chatter in the mainstream.
For example, 13 days ago, if cops were recorded conducting a drive-by shooting at kids walking down a sidewalk in their neighborhood — allegedly enforcing a 7:00 p.m. curfew — this would be a national conversation. Instead, it’s been reduced to a blurb in local media and buried by countless other stories.
Instead of seeing why something like this is a problem — which is why people are currently in the streets — Joe Sixpack remains mentally captured by the narratives fed to him through the divisive mainstream. The right regurgitates their narrative of all the protesters being rioters while the left says the opposite.
In reality, however, the truth is not polarized and is multifaceted.
The truth is that some people claiming to be protesters are doing some horrific things like beating innocent people and in some instance, killing them. Also, the truth is that cops are doing some horrific things like beating innocent people and killing them too. Neither of the situations is okay but to ignore one while focusing on the other only serves to add to your confirmation bias, ensuring that the actual multidimensional truth is never found.
TFTP chooses to focus on the crimes of the state as crimes by individuals are usually punished and not carried out under the protection of qualified immunity or some other legal doctrine that serves to protect those who carry out violence in the name of government. The following video below is a perfect example of said violence.
According to witnesses, the following footage was taken in the area of Fountain and Highland avenues.
In the video, we can see a deputy with the Los Angeles County Sheriff department leaning out the window in a “drive-by” fashion before opening fire on a group of teens on the sidewalk.
We have no way of knowing what transpired prior to this shooting. However, nothing the officers are doing is within department policy.
As the group turns and runs, pepper balls are seen exploding on signs and cars before rubber bullet gun shots can be heard. It was a scene out of a dystopian fiction, but it was real and happened in the land of the free.
After the video was posted to social media, sheriff Alex Villanueva issued a statement on Wednesday, but did not discuss the incident specifically.
“I am aware of two videos circulating on social media involving my deputies,” he said. “As with all use of force incidents, these cases will be thoroughly investigated, and we will also examine the facts, policies & procedures.”
“As I have stated before, this is another example of why we so desperately need the Board of Supervisors to fully fund the LASD body-worn camera project. The public deserves dull transparency.”
Villanueva tweeted, “I encourage any bystander(s) who may have captured the entire incident(s), particularly the events which led up to the incident(s), to contact the @LASDHQ.”
Villanueva also discussed the use of less-lethal weapons during civil unrest during an interview with KTLA on Wednesday morning, saying:
“They only should be used when the need is there. Obviously, if you’re tasking rocks and bottles in a confrontation, there’s no politically correct way to address the fact that you’re being assaulted, but with a deadly weapon,’ he said. “I expect the deputies to defend themselves and, however, they can do so with less-lethal force, which is the whole idea of the rubber bullets here, rubber batons. These are 40 mm, 37 mm, the pepper balls; all these different devices are designed to get someone’s attention without injuring them.”
As you watch the video below, as cops conduct a drive-by shooting on kids, the deputies are hardly “defending themselves” against anything.
Below is that disturbing footage perfectly illustrating why people are protesting.
https://twitter.com/NickHamiltonLA/status/1268023885665992704
Article posted with permission from Matt Agorist


thewashingtonstandard--2020-06-05--Minneapolis Mayor Wants $55 Million Of Your Money To Repair Riot Damages That He Could Have Helped S

Minneapolis Mayor Wants $ 55 Million Of Your Money To Repair Riot Damages That He Could Have Helped Stop Those in power in Minnesota , from Governor Tim Walz to Attorney General Hakim Muhammad ( aka Keith Ellison ) to Mayor Jacob Frey , have abandoned the people and subjected them to the rioters , looters , tyrannical cops and now the National Guard .
However , Mayor Frey wants to subject the people of the entire united States to a wealth redistribution to the city he let be torn apart to the tune of $ 55 million in federal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Minneapolis Democratic Mayor Jacob Frey is ordering city officials to begin a wide-ranging query of the damage done to the city ’ s infrastructure from the race riots that began last week after the death of George Floyd , planning on requesting a federal bailout for the city to repair the damages done by “ protestors.
” Early preliminary estimates gauge the price tag of property damage from the riots at more than $ 55 million dollars .
Frey is already working with U.S .
Senator Amy Klobuchar and representatives Ilhan Omar and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the city .
However , McCollum described a more realistic picture on the prospect of the Twin Cities being granted a federal bailout , which would require approval from the Republican Senate and the signature of President Trump .
In an email to the Minneapolis Star Tribune , she said the chances of a bailout were slim .
“ To be realistic , the odds of that happening are , at best , very difficult.
” Curiously , Frey seemed a lot less concerned about the economic and property damage impacts of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ happening .
Even the Democratic Governor of Minnesota , who proved almost equally inept at preventing mass destruction and controlling the volatile situation , slammed Frey for his refusal to deter the large crowds of criminal rioters , calling the city ’ s response to the riots an “ abject failure.
” Frey rebuffed suggestions to deploy the Minnesota National Guard before caving and giving in .
Not only that , but Minnesota Republican Party Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan issued a statement calling on Walz and Frey to resign over their terrible handling of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them an “ abject failure.
” “ For four straight nights we have helplessly watched our neighborhood businesses be looted and destroyed , we ’ ve watched as violent protesters have rioted in our streets and forced public transport and major thoroughfares to shut down , and we have watched our city burn to the ground , ” said the GOP chairwoman .
“ Governor Walz and Mayor Frey have been largely silent , other than a handful of unhelpful tweets and press conferences blaming everyone , but themselves , ” she added @ @ @ @ @ @ @ damaged to a level we never could have imagined .
The destruction caused this past week will unfortunately live in our memories forever .
It ’ s a dark stain on our state.
” “ These gentleman have demonstrated they are not equipped to run Minneapolis or Minnesota , ” she continued .
“ Their inaction has led to riots across our country .
Our state can not move forward or start to heal with either in office .
We call for the resignation of both , so no additional harm and damage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Well , I ’ m sure we can all count on both of these men to resign and do the right thing , right ?
Wrong .
If you want to actually do something , start holding these representatives and the criminal element of the police force to account with justice .
Until then , nothing will change .
Article posted with permission from Sons of Liberty Media

Minneapolis Mayor Wants $55 Million Of Your Money To Repair Riot Damages That He Could Have Helped Stop
Those in power in Minnesota, from Governor Tim Walz to Attorney General Hakim Muhammad (aka Keith Ellison) to Mayor Jacob Frey, have abandoned the people and subjected them to the rioters, looters, tyrannical cops and now the National Guard. However, Mayor Frey wants to subject the people of the entire united States to a wealth redistribution to the city he let be torn apart to the tune of $55 million in federal funds, which come from us.
Big League Politics reports:
Minneapolis Democratic Mayor Jacob Frey is ordering city officials to begin a wide-ranging query of the damage done to the city’s infrastructure from the race riots that began last week after the death of George Floyd, planning on requesting a federal bailout for the city to repair the damages done by “protestors.”
Early preliminary estimates gauge the price tag of property damage from the riots at more than $55 million dollars. Frey is already working with U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar and representatives Ilhan Omar and Betty McCollum on a potential bailout package for the city.
However, McCollum described a more realistic picture on the prospect of the Twin Cities being granted a federal bailout, which would require approval from the Republican Senate and the signature of President Trump. In an email to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, she said the chances of a bailout were slim. “To be realistic, the odds of that happening are, at best, very difficult.”
Curiously, Frey seemed a lot less concerned about the economic and property damage impacts of the race riots when they were actually happening. Even the Democratic Governor of Minnesota, who proved almost equally inept at preventing mass destruction and controlling the volatile situation, slammed Frey for his refusal to deter the large crowds of criminal rioters, calling the city’s response to the riots an “abject failure.” Frey rebuffed suggestions to deploy the Minnesota National Guard before caving and giving in.
Not only that, but Minnesota Republican Party Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan issued a statement calling on Walz and Frey to resign over their terrible handling of events over the past week, calling them an “abject failure.”
“For four straight nights we have helplessly watched our neighborhood businesses be looted and destroyed, we’ve watched as violent protesters have rioted in our streets and forced public transport and major thoroughfares to shut down, and we have watched our city burn to the ground,” said the GOP chairwoman.
“Governor Walz and Mayor Frey have been largely silent, other than a handful of unhelpful tweets and press conferences blaming everyone, but themselves,” she added. Minneapolis is decimated. Minneapolis is damaged to a level we never could have imagined. The destruction caused this past week will unfortunately live in our memories forever. It’s a dark stain on our state.”
“These gentleman have demonstrated they are not equipped to run Minneapolis or Minnesota,” she continued. “Their inaction has led to riots across our country. Our state can not move forward or start to heal with either in office. We call for the resignation of both, so no additional harm and damage comes to our people and state.”
Well, I’m sure we can all count on both of these men to resign and do the right thing, right? Wrong.
It’s politics as usual. Minnesota WWE Smackdown for political power.
If you want to actually do something, start holding these representatives and the criminal element of the police force to account with justice. Until then, nothing will change.
Article posted with permission from Sons of Liberty Media