Wow, ruthless!
Tell me about it!
Using fear to keep people in line.
Well, with such a huge military.
And let's not forget how much is spent on just keeping an eye on people.
Yeah, always some storm trooper watching you.
Yeah.
Ha, storm trooper.
That's kinda true.
I wonder if Luke Skywalker is going to be the new bad guy.
Wait, Luke Skywalker?
Ohhhhhh.
Hi, welcome to China Uncensored,
I'm your rebel leader, Chris Chappell.
Star Wars the Force Awakens comes out later this month,
and it got me thinking.
There are actually a lot of similarities between the Empire that rules the Galaxy and the Communist
Party that rules China.
Don't believe me?
Well here are 5 ways the Chinese Communist Party is like the Galactic Empire.
Number 5
Killing the Jedi
In Star Wars, the first thing Emperor Palpatine does to solidify his power is kill all the
Jedi.
Well, that's how the Chinese Communist Party did it too.
No, not killing Jedi.
When the Communist Party came to power,
the first thing it did was orchestrate a massive purge of what they called,
"the landlord class."
Landowners were beaten, tortured, often killed.
After that, they did the same to intellectuals.
Then anyone labeled as a rightist
which was basically anyone who didn't agree with the Party.
They also purged religious minorities,
like when they killed more than a million Tibetans and tried to destroy their spiritual
culture.
The point is,
mass killings might be a good way to start an empire,
but like in Star Wars,
it might comes back to bite you in the end.
Number 4
Ruling Through Fear
Speaking of killing, it's one thing to keep the people you rule in fear.
"Fear will keep the local star systems in line.
Fear of this battle station."
But it also helps to keep people in the actual government in constant fear of their own lives.
"You have failed me for the last time Admiral."
"I shall assume full responsibility for losing them and apologize to Lord Vader."
"Apology accepted Admiral."
In China, there are 55 types of crimes for which a court can sentence you to death, including
corruption.
You can also be persecuted simply for being a citizen with a dissenting view:
Or if state-run hospitals want to harvest your organs.
Number 3 Totalitarian Rule Based on "Laws" and "Stability"
"In order to ensure our security and continuing stability,
the Republic will be reorganized into the first Galactic Empire."
And there's totally no consequences to the Communist Party's obsession with stability.
Number 2
Artificial Floating Military Bases
The Death Star!
The greatest weapon ever conceived by man-slash-evil-Sith-Emperor.
Sure, it might masquerade as a harmless natural object in space.
But...
"That's no moon.
It's a space station!"
Now in China,
building a Death Star would be a tall order
since they've never even sent a person to the real moon.
But China does have plans to build its own Very Large Floating Structures
yes, that's what they're officially called
in the South China Sea.
But unlike the Empire,
the Chinese Communist Party is completely committed to peaceful development.
That's why their proposed structures would be for peaceful things only,
like shipping, electricity generation, and also tourism...somehow.
I mean, yeah,
the airplane runways would be long enough to land bomber planes,
but that's surely just a coincidence.
And Number 1
The Illusion of Democracy
In Star Wars, Senator Palpatine claims to support democracy.
"I love democracy.
I love the Republic."
But his true feelings are eventually revealed.
"I am the Senate."
In China, Mao Zedong talked often about how China is a democracy.
A "New Democracy."
And it's true!
China has the National People's Congress.
It's a multi-party legislature and it works great!
It works great because the outcome of every vote is controlled by the Communist Party.
Kind of like when Emperor Palpatine promised that the Galactic Empire would still be ruled
by the Senate…
"The power you give me,
I will lay down when this crisis has abated."
"Power!
Unlimited power!"
See?
Democracy.
Just like in Star Wars.
Well, those are 5 ways the Chinese Communist Party is like the Galactic Empire.
And check out our video on Off the Great Wall:
5 Ways Star Wars Was Inspired by Asia.
You can click here, and the link's also in the description below.
Thanks for watching this episode of China Uncensored.
Once again I'm
your host…
Mia Wijaya!
Grr…