I was wondering about booking a trip to China but I am worried about supporting the dictatorship. So I thought that i could ask about a historical perspective. Did tourism in the Soviet Union fund the dictatorship or did it give the population something positive?
i'd venture to answer from a non-historian angle: do make the trip and see for yourself.
cancelling your trip won't mean much to china. an open mind, genuine experience and contact with the people there can.
(i'm writing this as both a tourist who went to china recently, and as a guy from an ex-totalitarian state.)