The world looked at a man setting himself on fire in Tunisia.. They watched protesters storm Egypt and escort Hosni Mubarak out of office.. they are watching intense rage on the streets of Bahrain, as the government tries to crack down on protesters.. Libya, like others, has cut off the internet.. Saudi Arabia is on edge.. Iran is watching and quickly trying to put out small fires of protest throughout the nation.
And even the United States is increasingly on edge, as protesters storm Madison Wisconsin in protest of Governor Walker, who is intent on diminishing the amount of benefits that public employees in his state have.
But now, the intensity of the world on edge is perhaps most exemplified by China, where government forces are dispersing protesters in Shanghai.. According to reports, police began to quickly filter crowds of protesters that popped up in the city..
We have seen a crackdown before in Tiananmen Square. The world watched tanks storm peaceful Chinese protesters.. And after that, not much more freedom ever flourished.
Most recently, China received the scorn of the world (but only scorn and that’s about it) after it began a systematic campaign of the arrest of bloggers and immediate put-down of any free speech that violated what state media wanted the Chinese to hear..
But it appears, in a sense, that this burst of newfound freedom of expression thanks to Facebooking Tweets and Tumblering blogs.
However, China is on guard. An online call for a “Jasmine Revolution” has been watched by Chinese officials, who are not about to let freedom fighters prevail against totalitarian aims of the current regime.
While no major protest occurred (And not that we know since state media controls mostly everything in China), it’s amazing how this new energy is racing around the world. Is it people power? Is it all real?
Are we watching a revolution..? Or is it simply opening shots in a soon-to-occur war?
Perhaps it’s worth nothing: Photos of this weekend’s events in China certainly illustrate that it was more than just a few who showed for the Jasmine callout..
Where it goes from here? We’ll have to stay tuned to official government state media for that, I suppose.
