> mobilize half the population against the other half,
This, a likely scenario under such circumstances, sounds atrocious ...
It would be a human tragedy on a scale we've never seen before. This is why an authoritarian government of 1.4 billion people terrifies me. If history is any guide, the state will fall. But if it doesn't happen peacefully, god help us.
> This is why an authoritarian government of 1.4 billion people terrifies me.
Your terror is well-founded, I'm afraid.
(And, they are showing themselves to be increasingly nervous ...
... see the latest crackdown on academia, and student organizations ...)
But ideas spread quickly. If anything close to 80-90% of a population demands something, that thing is likely to happen.
That's why the fight in the information space is so fierce, that's why the police response in HK was so violent, etc. Authoritarians know the stakes couldn't be hirer, so they fight this battle with everything they got. If a critical mass one day demands freedom their very lives are now at risk.
Keep in mind, the people that ordered the military to fire on Chinese students in Tiananmen square, they are still in power. If the CCP were to fall, I would assume those people wouldn't escape justice. So they will fight like hell to avoid accountability.