Look, we all know this sucks. It's no surprise to us that governments the world over are hell-bent on mass surveillance... BUT, we shouldn't also disregard the

Look, we all know this sucks. It's no surprise to us that governments the world over are hell-bent on mass surveillance... BUT, we shouldn't also disregard the historical and cultural contexts. China has always maintained a very strict command of its people to preserve state stability. Just ask the scholars from the Qin Dynasty. Oh that's right, you can't, because their writings were burned while dissenters were buried alive in mass graves. You can rail all you want about totalitarianism and mass surveillance from the comfort of a Hacker News thread, but let's be honest here: if a several-thousand-year history is any guide, China will likely move in the direction of more surveillance and control, not less.