Well, spider, I guess you can't please all of the people all of the time. The advances China has made in the last 30 years are spectacular, but, as you say, the CCP remains rooted in control and the continuation of their hold on power. But in a country of 1.6 billion, what are the alternatives? Democracy? The country would grind to a halt. Above all else I believe the Chinese love their country, and so sacrificing some personal liberties, abhorrent to us in the West, is not such a big deal there. China first!