China monologue

[Colleagues] draw attention to Why China cracked down on my nonprofit by Nick Young, formerly of China Development Brief. He writes:

a high-ranking Chinese security official... "in charge of watching terrorism and NGOs,"...[said] I could become an elite propagandist for China, or I would have to leave the country, where I had lived continuously for 12 years, and would never be allowed back...

...Most disturbing is that this primitive "friend or foe" logic is still applied not just to foreigners, but to Chinese people. Recent months have seen heightened surveillance of local NGOs and the forced closure of some, such as a "rural reconstruction" initiative led by the eminent People's University professor, Wen Tiejun. This is the government's way of "killing the chicken to scare the monkey," as the Chinese proverb goes. It's a signal to others to watch their step...