CHINA-INTERNAL: STABILITY
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The official English-language China Daily on April 13, 2016, published an article by Peng Chun, a postdoctoral fellow at the School of Law, Peking University, titled 'China demise theory wrong and unhelpful' which criticised the 'fad' of predicting "the end of China." It said that David Shambaug, a veteran China watcher and prominent Sinologist known for his moderate views, had joined Gordon Chang and sparked an international debate on "China's future". Among the central arguments the China Daily makes while challenging the thesis of the collapse of China is that 'the book underestimates, if not dismisses, China's political system's responsiveness to societal changes. In this sense, Shambaugh's "collapsism" places inadequate confidence in both the Chinese people and State'; and that Shambaugh "relies on an over-simplified yet long-entrenched dichotomy between authoritarianism and democracy. The associated verdict is simple: democracy lives while authoritarianism dies." The article concludes: "Let's be clear: no one is trying to boast the China miracle or trumpet the China model. There is no established model since China is still in the process of reform and transformation. For every little progress, there awaits a bigger challenge. Complacency has no room here. Nor has "collapsism". Because "collapsism" unduly rejects the resolution, confidence and dynamism in both the Chinese nation and State to face up to the mounting challenges that have been nicely listed out in Shambaugh's book. But be alerted: his diagnosis is inaccurate and his prescription unhelpful."
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