Why didn't the Qing government let the railway be built?

That's not true. In modern China, railways directly built by "foreign businessmen", "foreign businessmen" and "foreigners" in China were basically railways built by "investors" and "invaders" of foreign powers in their spheres of influence, leased land and occupied areas, or railways built according to unequal treaties, or even railways built without authorization in China-ruled areas. What we call "strongman's road-building characteristics" does not mean that the powers directly build railways in China, but that the characteristics of "strongman's road-building" are fully reflected in various forms of "self-run" railways in China. The so-called "strongman" refers to a person who has power, status and influence in the whole country or local areas. The so-called strongman road construction refers to some powerful people who are not in charge of railway construction in name or directly, but actually lead railway construction. The national political system will inevitably affect the railway construction and railway management system. In modern China, the centralized bureaucratic regime remained the same, but the centralization became weaker and weaker, the government officials became more and more powerful, and the local separatist forces became more and more powerful, which made the railway construction reflect the characteristics of strong people building roads. Almost every railway is built with one or several powerful people in power, either planning or directly coming forward. The new railway was born in their hands, and it is also tightly controlled and manipulated in their hands.

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