China’s paramount leader, Xi Jinping , frequently reiterates that China is pursuing “peaceful development.” On a trip to France last year, he described his country as “peaceful, pleasant and civilized.” But 2014 saw the rhetoric of peace wearing increasingly thin.
That’s not just because Beijing is muscling for territory as far afield as Malaysia and Indonesia. Much closer to home, the discontents and hazards of Chinese empire are mounting. From Xinjiang to Hong Kong to Taiwan, the peripheries of Greater China are burning.
China’s leaders have decisions to make in every direction, and recent evidence suggests they may not choose compromise anywhere. Which means that fear and loathing of Beijing will likely increase among tens of millions of people, that the Communist Party will face growing challenges to its reputation for “harmonious” and prosperous rule, and that after years of quiet the Taiwan Strait may become a dangerous world’s most dangerous flashpoint.
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