A decade or so ago, China's policy of 'not making trouble'was so in line with the Confucian image of ancient gentleness, kindness, courtesy, frugality, and deference. And with Taoism's governance by non-action, a prosperous era emerged. The current situation: no matter what the upper level says, the lower level no longer believes a single punctuation mark. It's like after Kim Jong-un's double meets Putin's double, everyone knows the other is fake and has no authority.