I think the disillusionment exists, especially among the youth and democratically-minded. In my opinion, for such a regime to be successful in the modern day it must exist... that said, I would say the most telling aspect is how these particular individuals view their goals and/or definitions of "success."
America certainly isn't the democratic ideal, however in contrast it's apparent how a sustained cultural ideal can eventually swing the legislative tide (LBGT rights, marijuana legalization, et al.). From my experience, even the Chinese protests are government-sanctioned ("order through controlled disorder") and the communication happening on platforms such as Sina Weibo is generally devoid of any cultural or philosophical taboos.
I'm hesitant to be too strong about this because truthfully I haven't spent much time there in the most recent years, however I can't say I've seen any indication this has changed--everything points to more of the same, and the most recent Hong Kong protests provided a rather interesting look at how this cognitive dissonance plays out in an environment where maintaining such control (due to its international economic relevance) is more difficult.
>I think the disillusionment exists, especially among the youth and democratically-minded.
This. Except older, middle-class people are even more disillusioned than the young. As a rule, older Chinese people won't talk about their disillusionment, but those who lived through the 50s and 60s faced huge obstacles. They live lives of quiet desperation.
America certainly isn't the democratic ideal, however in contrast it's apparent how a sustained cultural ideal can eventually swing the legislative tide (LBGT rights, marijuana legalization, et al.). From my experience, even the Chinese protests are government-sanctioned ("order through controlled disorder") and the communication happening on platforms such as Sina Weibo is generally devoid of any cultural or philosophical taboos.
I'm hesitant to be too strong about this because truthfully I haven't spent much time there in the most recent years, however I can't say I've seen any indication this has changed--everything points to more of the same, and the most recent Hong Kong protests provided a rather interesting look at how this cognitive dissonance plays out in an environment where maintaining such control (due to its international economic relevance) is more difficult.