There was a comment (I think on Top Gear, so take it with a grain) that if you drive a new Porsche through Beijing, the air coming out the tailpipe is cleaner then the air going in the front.

China has a lot of internal tensions, not the least of which is that as people become more affluent, they start to want greater transparency from the government, greater fairness, and more independence. All of those desires put them in conflict with the current regime. The party may be able to keep things under control, but I don't think there's any question that it's already grappling to maintain order via censorship, suppression of dissent, etc.

- censorship (like wikileaks) - Suppression of dissent (like the 'Occupy movement' is being suppressed).

Governments (regardless of ideology) try to avoid dissent, as it's damaging to those in power...

Also note: Most chinese (i'd say) don't worry about this. So the point is a little over dramatic.

Some one care to enlighten me how the censorship of wikileaks is any different to the great fire wall? (Slightly different scale, but they both illustrate censorship).

Or the suppression the of the Occupy Movement is different from the concept of "suppression of dissent". That is the forcible removal of people with views the government doesn't want to hear.

I haven't even mention the Patriot Act and how it has been exploited...

Rocks and glasshouses...

Came pretty close to tanks...

Tiananmen square protests (what the "Tanks" were implying) were not peaceful. They started that way, but they were not that way, when the military stepped in. There have been numerous reports that the 'trigger' moment, was a group of soldiers being isolated and threatened or attacked.

I love you are saying The US is a very free country in response to the L.A riots... the irony is not missed :D