Title: Is China authoritarian or totalitarian? - Quora
Headings: Is China authoritarian or totalitarian?
Is China authoritarian or totalitarian?
Content: They are very aware though of what they say which can get them into trouble with the authorities. Here is my definition for the difference between authoritarian and totalitarian governments: authoritarian governments go after people for what they do and say; totalitarian governments go after people for what they are. China is authoritarian because all Chinese know what are the "red lines" which will get them into trouble with the ruling party and its security services. Under President Xi Jinping, and with new technologies which can efficiently track down what people are saying on the Internet, and especially Weixin/WeChat, the Chinese security services can immediately find out who is saying what VERY quickly, and take action. The Chinese security services and President Xi are out to prove that the Internet CAN be managed and controlled. President Xi's vision for China is obviously for a modern authoritarian state where the emperor's security services can reach down into society to catch troublemakers before they can spread dangerous ideas about constitutionalism and government accountability in the bud. To me, it looks like a hi-tech version of the final decades of the Qing dynasty 2.0. Obviously Xi wants to create a modern society where people can largely do what they want, but if they want more latitude, they need to leave China.