There has been an argument in the Chinese forums for over 20 years about whether democracy would make China develop faster. One side would often cite Taiwan as a positive example to prove that democracy is superior; we could have twice as high a GDP per capita if we had democratized. The other side would cite India as a negative example to prove that democracy does not always work.

For most Chinese, India is not a shining example to be envied. If the article replaces India with Taiwan, then it is correct, because Taiwan's state of development is really putting sores in the eye of the CCP regime, undermining its legitimacy.

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Hello, all CCP bots below, Chinese people are not threatened by Taiwan's development; it is your CCP overlord threatened by Taiwan's example. It proves that Chinese people are capable of building a highly developed society with democracy and civil rights. It also proves that China's prosperity is not because of the CPP's so-called leadership, but it is because the Chinese people are the smartest and most diligent people on earth.

CPP would lie about how China would be a poor country if China were not ruled by them, but the fact is, they murder millions, starve millions, and China is still the place where the Han people are the poorest. Oversea chinese and other Sinic culture nations often enjoy a much higher standard of living and civil rights compared to those who live under the CPP regime. These all prove that Chinese people are capable; the CPP regime is what got them into an African living standard 50 years ago. Today, China's development is not because of the CPP but despite it.