Word: authoritarianism
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...monastery has been taking a referendum on Shugden. When the "anti" faction inevitably wins, the monks pledge to renounce Shugden and deny spiritual or material aid to those who hold out. In transcripts that Shugdenpas allege record the Dalai Lama's comments, he sounds atypically (to the Western ear) authoritarian. "Shugden devotees are growing in your monastery," he is quoted as snapping at one abbot. "If you are this inept, you had better resign...
...many of those exiles have returned home and joined one of the most exciting contemporary-art scenes in the world. But the explosion in Beijing's arts world is only one aspect of a broader cultural, social and even commercial flowering of the capital, until recently a symbol of authoritarian conformity to many outside China. Much has been written about the transformation of Beijing's hardware ahead of this summer's Olympic Games--both the whirlwind of development that has swept away huge swaths of the old city and the waves of cars that are choking its roads and poisoned...
There is, of course, one area where little has changed: politics. Despite allowing Beijingers (and indeed all Chinese) vastly more freedom in their personal lives, the Communist Party still suppresses any public discussion of the legitimacy of its rule or talk of alternatives to the current authoritarian system of government. And there's no doubt that the same party cadres that allowed Beijing's cultural flowering to happen still have the ability to smother the creative explosion if it gets out of hand...
...used by opticians are replaced with bawdy illustrations - might be a comment on the nature of pornography, or an invitation to look for the unexpected in the most prosaic situations. Li Xinlu's Beijing Lightning Babe illustrations poke brightly colored fun at the mass gymnastic displays so beloved of authoritarian regimes...
...Chavez controls the hemisphere's largest oil reserves, but an equally valuable commodity - the one that shields him from U.S. accusations that he's a dictator in the mold of Cuba's Fidel Castro - is his democratic legitimacy. Despite his authoritarian bent, Chavez has been fairly elected three times, and he can't afford to forfeit that cachet. That's why he surprised his critics by respecting the will of the electorate when he lost last year's referendum. The need to maintain his democratic credentials is also the reason why, in the face of howls from civil rights groups...