To add to 'making the situation worse'.. One thing that I suspect China finds to their great benefit is using technical loopholes of all sorts as a steam valve

To add to 'making the situation worse'.. One thing that I suspect China finds to their great benefit is using technical loopholes of all sorts as a steam valve. One famous and official example is "Special Economic Zones" if some centralization policy is really hindering business so badly, just take your business to Hong Kong or Xiamen. This relieves the pressure from concentrated pain points. In the censorship context a Chinese person who wants to access Facebook or some censored magazine can get around the firewall. It's easy enough that it's not a big deal and not some serious dissident act. To most expats, intellectual or student reformist, internet censorship in China is a minor inconvenience. It doesn't prevent businesses in China from doing business effectively. To the average Chinese Internet user, censorship invisibly impacts the headlines they see shaping their worldview a little towards the pro-CCP side. They essentially get a moderate win at minimum cost. Locking down the internet more thoroughly would help them control information more fully, but the cost would be much higher. Another commonly occurring example is black markets for currency which emerge in every country with a failing currency policy (surpassingly common). Without those black markets failing policies hit a wall much sooner by completely shutting down tourism, international trade, etc. If you tolerate traffic light money changers, you can go on with your stupid policy of currency control. Without these technical steam valves Russia might seem less livable to certain people who are especially agitated by censorship. Concentrated social or economic interest is a very important component of political change. 5% of the population who make something their no. 1 issue is much more powerful that 50% with a slight preference.