I would also like to know. It's funny, because I feel like a lot of media and news I've consumed paints china as this hellish dystopia, so when I (very occasionally) talk with chinese nationals online I'm kinda underwhelmed by how it's just... a place? I don't know.
It's definitely just another place. It must be in order for people to lead normal, content lives.
Politically, it has very alien features that seem unlivable and dystopian to people from countries with strong support of free speech.
I can't fathom the motivation for maintaining this. Because they stifle creativity, the authoritarian features of the dominant political culture in China do not seem to be productive over the long term. In my little scientific domain this is definitely visible. I cannot remember significant new approaches developed in China. Despite many attempts I cannot seem to begin meaningful collaborations with researchers in China. The good scientists appear to run away.
