
Uprisings in China and Iran show the limits of government harassment
According to Dictionary.com, the verb “harass” means “to disturb or bother persistently; torment, as with troubles or cares; pester”.
Recent protests in Iran and China suggest another definition: “what tyrannical governments do to their people”.
More than anything else, what seems to have brought the people of both countries into the streets was being fed up with authorities’ incessant but unavoidable demands: In Iran, mandatory wearing of a hijab, or headscarf, for women (among other strictures); in China, endless lockdowns and coronavirus testing, on top of much other systematic surveillance and censorship.
Neither regime seems in danger of falling, though it’s anyone’s guess how the two dramas get resolved.… Seguir leyendo »