So a lot of energy goes into internal bashing. While China makes another Great Leap Forward and so on.
By that logic North Korea should be the most advanced country in the world. It doesn't work that way. My freedom of speech requires no energy. I can do my job AND speak freely.
North Korea is not an independent actor.
It's China's important ally (which is not widely advertised, of course).
It's also an ally of Iran, which is admittedly backward, despite social unity and Pehlevi's "rebranding" from "Persia". Pehlevi failed to modernize and westernize it enough. But at least they prevented a coloured coup recently - which Lybia, Tunisia, Iraq and Egypt failed.
Even with Iran and N. Korea lagging, can you deny that China is making progress?
Not because of absence of freedom of speech, because of her society being united in becoming World's hegemon.
"When China will be great", they used to say, and not "if".
Trump bashing is not springing from the freedom of speech, it's a symptom of a deep stress that is being masked by financial manipulations.
Since you're not providing sources I'm going to assume you made it up.
I will get to that in due course. But not tomorrow.