system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
CMV: China and Russia are 21st century empires.

Dictionary.com and Webster state " a group of nations or peoples ruled over by an emperor, empress, or other powerful sovereign or government: usually a territory of greater extent than a kingdom, AND a government under an emperor or empress." 

I mention these two sources to say provide support to my definition, which focuses on MODERN empires....

**1.  Empires are authoritarian powers that hold disparate people in one political body against their will.**

**2.  Empires favor one group of people above others and subjugate non-core groups**  

*Ethnic Russian and Han led governments control neighboring territory against the will of the people of that "state".  In both cases these populations are large and the central government does not give equal rights and representation to the affected people.*

*Unevenly applied tactics are used to subjugate people inside 21st century China and Russia.  Suppression or elimination of culturally distinct languages, religions, forced relocation of people, inability to speak out against the government, lack of basic freedoms.  These tactics are frequently applied against disparate peoples because the authoritarian government is too powerful (i.e. ruling party or ruling figure, aka emperor) to oppose or the core population will support that policy because it gives them a benefit at the expense of the other.*

Some exclusionary statements: 

 - A democracy cannot be an empire because groups are not held against their will.  

 - A country that has substantial portions of its population live without representation against that population's will is NOT a democracy.  (Puerto Rico votes to remain a territory instead of becoming a state, thus choosing one set of rights and privileges over another i.e. democracy in action).  

 - An authoritarian state is not an empire if it does not control disparate peoples and have a core group (N. Korea only controls Koreans in Korea and thus is a terrible place but not an empire).  

 - A state need only favor core groups to be an empire, the level of oppression to non-core groups is largely irrelevant.  If no core group exists then it is more likely a dictatorship and not an empire.  Oppression is an example of preferential treatment.  A group's desire to leave the empire can be independent of the harms suffered against it. 

 - Historic empires in the 20th century and before are not part of this discussion.
gpt
Who are the emperors of China and Russia? If they are empires, then they must have an emperor that controls them. 

Basically, they are empires if you completely change the definition of empire. But if you adhere to the strict definition (the one you gave in the first part of your post), they would not be considered empires. Oppressive states? Yes. Empires? No.