>>46353
Eh wrong picture, ignore for now, I will address that later
>>46282
>did not relinquish any authority.
Despite the large shift in the direction of liberalization (in the old non-faggy sense of "liberalism") which has affected all aspects of society, I think it is correct to say they did not relinquish any ultimate authority. But it is not an exclusive gommie characteristic. Ruling dynasties in ancient China also held ultimate authority. What role do you think is played in USA by the permanent military-intelligence-political bureaucracy with a rotating-door kind of relationship with industry and media? Did you know that the leadership of the continuously re-elected JApanese LDP hails directly from the ruling clans of imperial Japan? Look up the famous Shinzo Abe. Post-war political developments in Japan and Germany were very different (a reflection both of US geopolitical ambitions/needs and the involvement of a certain tribes people)
The concept of "deep state" is a useful one. I have come to see it this way: in places like usa and russia and probably most, if not all, large states there is such a "deep state" core that is then surrounded by the "liberal democracy" system on top. The core will strive to retain ultimate authority, regardless of the apparent electoral changes we might see on the surface. US pioneered and developed this system most, with the establishment bi(uni)party on the "shell" of the underlying structures of the Pentagon, part of the CFR, the establishment media, some military contractors, the giant private banks of wall street, etc. The UK's is similar and highly synchronized with the US's. In Russia, after the Soviet collapse, they had to build one anew (or refurbish the existing broken one) and ofc they took inspiration from USA. Japan is not fully sovereign: usa's deep state has an important office in japan's. Instead of a bi-party shell, theirs have 1 main establishment party (ldp) plus smaller ones for variety (comparable to russia in this aspect). Germany is interesting. Not fully sovereign, as japan, but maybe the country that most "truly believes" or "wants to believe" in liberal democracy. Not sure
Anyway, with tht model in mind: In china, outside the SARs, there is no underlying "core" with a liberal democracy "shell"; the party being roughly the civil servant class and body politic is openly what eleswhere would be divided into an above-surface/below-surface system. It can be considered a less refined system because being this overt makes it easy target of foreign political/ideological/religious criticism and propaganda. It is also less deceptive and hypocritical
And before you bring up corporate commissaries and such: I already mentioned the politico-military-corporate rotating door in USA which serves a similar purpose. These old practices (remember Operation Mockingbird) have become more obvious in the recent period of political unrest/hysteria since Trump's surprise victory and until the climax of the sjw/nignog riots and his defeat at the "fortified" (Lol) elections. For example I remember reading about facebook getting someone from Atlantic council (a nato mouthpiece funded by the state dpt and military contractors) to carry out intelligence work related to [foreign] media-ops or influence campaigns