I mentioned most of those points in my article, especially regarding the human rights situation. I agree with you that the Chinese government has a long way to go but I still stand by my original point that China is no longer a communist country based on its economic transformation in the past 30 years.
You’re right, of course. I suspect that most of the anti-China folks here haven’t been there or haven’t been there recently. People do speak out, not “against the government,” but against government policies. This seems to be tolerated as long as you don’t touch one of the “third rails” — e.g., Taiwan independence, overthrowing the party, etc.
As long as we’re being provocative, I’ll go a couple steps further:
1. There is more freedom in China today than there was in the American south up to the civil rights movement.
2. China moves toward more freedom for its people while nations like England and Canada often seem to be moving in the opposite direction.
3. If Ayn Rand woke up today in Shanghai or Beijing and took a walk around, she’d ask in amazement, “When were the Communists defeated?”