Living in an authoritarian state

It's sometimes easy to forget that I'm smack dab in the middle of an authoritarian state. Capitalism is sweeping China, but democracy and human rights are not. The Newsweek article Silent Games is grim reminder that I have no freedom of speech here, and the government exercises tight control over what information I can get my hands on. Fortunately, the internet is difficult to completely control. I can read the Newsweek article, for example, and western news outlets like CNN are accessible on the web, too -- at least today it is.

Google on the term police state, and the first link is the wikipedia entry. Somebody wanna let me know what it says? I can't read it because the wikipedia site (which is a fantasic, free on-line encyclopedia) is blocked in China. No doubt the entry on Tiananmen Square isn't too flattering to the People's Republic.