This is the best post on this topic that has ever been written on Hacker News.
Only nitpick (after a bunch of brilliant conjecture that basically 'scans' as far as human behavior, chinese society, and Xi's inclinations): The cultural revolution was completely out of control once unleashed -- this seems much more 'regular' as far as how it's being administered.
Yes, and you've stripped all of the ideology and mania out of it by referencing it in this context. OP who wrote that excellent post would have known better.
Are Uyghurs being sent out into the farmlands to toil on stupid projects as part of a hyper-idealistic, "we're all workers" message? No, none of that, in any way. They're indoors, and the message has nothing to do with hammers or sickles.
I am saying that the current generation of leaders may not find the idea of camps abhorrent. Xi was himself a sent-down youth. He probably did not like it at the time but he hasn't displayed any strong resentment of it either.
Only nitpick (after a bunch of brilliant conjecture that basically 'scans' as far as human behavior, chinese society, and Xi's inclinations): The cultural revolution was completely out of control once unleashed -- this seems much more 'regular' as far as how it's being administered.