HONG KONG — The remarkable developments in Iran are cause for reflection in Asian countries both on past events and future stability. China has cause to think about these issues, so it is not surprising that 20 years after Tiananmen the media is being told to minimize Iran protest coverage.
For the Chinese leadership, the problems of the regime in Tehran demonstrate two principles. First, the critical importance of avoiding open splits among the ruling elite. Such a split in China, between hard-liners around Deng Xiaoping and those around Zhao Ziyang accepting the need for gradual political change, helped create the crisis that led to the bloodbath. In Iran the elite has likewise allowed itself to be divided, both by policies and personal power plays. For China, that shows the critical importance of the Communist Party as an institution which ultimately over-rides factionalism. The Iranian system lacks an equivalent party structure.
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