guilty by association if it became known this censored information had been discussed.
democracy are limited by caste and a lack of policy protecting women and children's rights.
The idea of 'censorship' is nowhere more synonymous than in China. The state officially controls all media, with everything from newspapers to social networking websites like Facebook either banned entirely or modified to suit the state's need. As freedom is the pinnacle of western values, it is hard for those of us with that cultural conditioning to comprehend why the Chinese continue to accept and celebrate the rule of the government. I have come to believe that the answer is similar to the reason for our disillusionment cultural conditioning, the idea that subconsciously our values are dictated through the society we live in. In line with the censorship that exists, Chinese citizens have previously had very little opportunity to be exposed to alternate lines of thinking and therefore their cultural conditioning is heavily under the influence of state control. It is because of this restricted access to information and effective government propaganda, that many of the Chinese live in a 'harmonious society' that President Hu Jintao is so keen to secure7.
China is on the path to greater openness and the West must learn to not force our values system onto a country that is not only culturally different, but that may one day have the power to redefine our values. Sometimes when people ask me today what it is like living 'inside' China I tell them that it resembles a type of apartheid - foreigners and natives receive different treatment at the hands of the CCP, and when either side tries to lift the 'bamboo curtain' you are confronted with the distinct possibility that you'll get your fingers trapped.
It was from understanding this idea of cultural conditioning, that I would ask what a variety of individuals thought about the CCP's dictatorship. More often than not, I was given a bland answer, befitting of a person who knows they could be under surveillance. However, a few times I did receive an argument that made me reconsider my aversion to China's system. The argument was that the vast scale of China geographically and socially functions most effectively under a union that restricts decision-making to a small group of elites. Outrageous as it may sound to those of us who uphold democracy; in China's case I have come to agree that this is the best system for rapid development and long-term prosperity. One only need to compare India's sluggish and disaster-riddled ascent to China's cold but efficient development, to realise which one has been more effective in pulling the population out of poverty. Moreover those who argue that India at least trumps China in terms of human rights should look again. Although Indian democracy has provided the population with a voice through voting, its effectiveness has been severely limited by well-documented corruption and a bumbling bureaucracy that has slowed growth down from the decade-long average of 7.9% to a low of 5.3% in the fourth quarter of 20128. Human rights are only marginally improved on those that exist in China, civil liberties that exist in Indian
ALEXANDRA HARROW is an undergraduate student at John Hopkins University .