Since the Communist Party gained power in China and established the People’s Republic of China in 1949, authoritarian rule has been the norm. Around the late 1970s, as the first generation of Communist Party leaders were replaced by a second, some reforms provided a foundation of rapid economic development (it is now an economic superpower). The political reforms away from authoritarian rule has remained elusive.
For example, the government continues to exert its absolute control over politics, and is often looks to eradicate domestic “threats” to stability of the country through excessive use of force and authority. Imprisonment of political opponents and journalists has become a critical and common condition within the government. The press is tightly regulated as is religion. Suppression of independence/secessionist movements is often heavy-handed, to say the least.
This is a picture of Tiananmen Square and entrance over the bridge and through the doors shown leads visitors to the Forbidden City where the emperor's home was located.
An example of this would be the amount of campaigning, by students and others for more democratic rights and freedom of speech, that has culminated in the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, a violent crackdown by the Chinese military with 15 days of martial law. The after-effects also resulted in government crackdown of sympathizers. Foreign media was banned for a while, while local media was strictly monitored and controlled; therefore, Communist Party members, who sympathized with the protesters, were placed under house arrest.
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