The backlash of China's culture of crackdowns

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Killing a chicken to frighten the monkey is a saying all to often to describe China's culture of crackdowns. You make a lot of noise and do some nasty things, hoping the bigger evil will stay away. When media, like here, started to report about the newest crackdown, focusing on now the 60th birthday of the People's Republic of China, it was very hard not to start laughing. When you have been living in China, you know that "crackdowns" are part of life and as long as you are no monkey, you can stay on the save side.
But, hold on, what if a "crackdown" that would in China mainly trigger off a giggle - unless you were the chicken, of course - would become a permanent state of affairs on an international level? Last year, China's security alerts killed tourism surrounding the Beijing Olympics. While the Olympics went on smoothly, 2008 was a disaster for tourism and many other industries.
Now, the first stories about F-visas being restricted are already been revived. What still the strive to maintain a harmonious society, as here reported by the China Digital Times will throw the country into another public relation fit. What if next year's Worldexpo 2010 in Shanghai will trigger off a similar reaction of limited visa, severe security measures, on top of the already troublesome economic global climate?
China is become a mature state and having huge events should be a part of normality, not of a crackdown in any kind. It might take a while for this message to become part of a culture of crackdowns, but it is time that Deng Xiaoping's message of China opening its gates becomes critical again.