> as long as people are able to discuss politics with their friends, they have a outlet to vent without being able to actually form political resistance. > Ano

> as long as people are able to discuss politics with their friends, they have a outlet to vent without being able to actually form political resistance. > Another interpretation could be that China cares about, or simply consideres legitimate, the expression of dissent, but is terrified by the consequences of mass protest movements such as that of Tiananmen Square, preferring to maintain a rigid control on the direction and pace of change. These statements are practically identical the only thing that changes is how charitably you're framing the suppression of political dissent and if you're viewing things from the POV of the political class or the regular people.