No, but oddly, you can do almost anything else. Most activity in China does not feel as though it's too intruded upon by the gov.. If you don't run afoul of the party apparatus, it's not unlike many other places. I'm not justifying anything other than to say it's not a dystopia for most.

"Not dystopian except for the thought police" doesn't cut it for me.

This is exactly what I'm saying. It's like when you walk into your work office. Not smart to talk shit about your job in the office. China is not America, but it's not dystopia either.

> but it's not dystopia either.

A dystopia doesn't have to be as all-permeating and starkly obvious as the one depicted in 1984 to be a dystopia.

No you're not. Snowden wasn't allowed to denounce the government either.

He was, just not with a bunch of classified documents in hand.

Those classified documents showed how the government was spying on their own citizens and breaking the law. He was whistleblowing.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/07/edward-snowden...

He is literally not allowed to denounce the government for breaking their own laws.

That's what classifying documents is for - to keep them secret. He didn't get in trouble for "denouncing the government", he got in trouble for publishing classified documents.

I agree with what Snowden did, and respect him for having the courage to do so, but I'm not sure if you're trying to demonise the US government or legitimise the Chinese one by claiming the prosecuting someone for publishing classified documents is equivalent to prosecuting someone for disagreeing with the ruling party.

How convinient. If I had broken the law I would also clasify all documents which could prove it.

If you sign an NDA with a company then violate that NDA by whistleblowing, you are protected under US law. Snowden has no such protection.