I can co-sign all of that, but the cleanliness and order comes at a terrible dystopian price. There is no counterculture, little underground, and everyone with resources who can leave, does.

China is a terrible place, the ultimate star wars crab bucket dystopian future. It’s shiny and pretty and has cool LEDs and malls.

Any place can be decades ahead if you simply outlaw the old ways of life. Authoritarianism is a terrible cancer.