China In Space: In the Service of the Emperor

The Chinese government is not known for placing a high value upon the lives of its citizens. This is not surprising. As Natan Sharansky wrote in The Case for Democracy, authoritarian governments are never known for valuing the lives of their citizens, because they do not depend upon the citizenry for power. Sharansky claims that this makes them dangerous and more warlike, because it’s easier to send your people to the meat grinder when they’re scared of the leaders, and not vice versa.

It was therefore slightly jarring to see the conservatism that went into the Chinese human spaceflight program which started with test flights in 1999 and proceeded very methodically to the launch of Yang Liwei in 2003, and now seems to have slowed down from that deliberate pace. The government went to extraordinary efforts to ensure that Liwei returned intact from his flight, in contrast to earlier Chinese space projects that on several occasions killed numerous citizens on the ground—all hushed up, of course.

This attitude is similar to that which we now know occurred with the Soviet space program during the height of the Cold War. The Soviets at times took stupid risks with ground personnel working on their rockets, such as allowing launch pad crews to approach fully-fueled rockets that then blew up horrifically. However, they also developed an effective escape system for their cosmonauts, as well as recovery forces and all kinds of other safety systems. The reason is simple: while authoritarian governments can kill hundreds, thousands, or even millions of their citizens on the ground and cover it up, human spaceflight is a highly visible event that occurs on the world stage. Kill a cosmonaut and you cannot keep it secret. Kill a cosmonaut and the leadership looks bad.

What this fact highlights is the close connection between human spaceflight and political power. For China, human spaceflight reflects directly upon the leadership of the Communist Party. It is meant to enhance their power.

The flight of Shenzhou 6 has thrown this relationship into harsh relief. Wu Bangguo, the party’s number two leader, watched the landing at the Beijing control center and remarked, “This will further improve the country’s international status and national strength, and will help to mobilize its people to rally around the Communist Party and work harder for the future of the country.” The New York Times also quoted a Beijing electrician, Li Guoqiang: “It’s really incredible and we’re all filled with pride. It’s about developing and expressing our national strength.”

Dwayne write s alot more here.

I recommend reading it. It's a rather interesting read. We'll see if history ends up agreeing with him. Or not.