And there's a good chance that he does not or cannot even allow himself the freedom of mind to acknowledge it.

I've noticed something with the Chinese people I've spoken to, as much as they acknowledge that "the government is bad", they agree with them in all regards.

They quite simply cannot come to terms with the notion that the reality presented to the in school and by the media, throughout their entire lives, is simply a façade.

Is Shen complicit? Quite possibly. But the Chinese government seeks for all it's citizenry to act not as individuals but as a unified whole. Outside of the higher levels of government it becomes very difficult to allocate individual shares of blame.