Politics and Economics

What to make of all of this? Is the Communist Party repressive and China backward?

I'll share some insights that Chinese offered to me along the way. You make up your own mind.

One PhD Research Chemist spent some time with me on a train ride. I learned a lot from him. He had just finished school and begun working when the Cultural Revolution came. No opportunities for work continued. Educated people were killed or re-educated. Everyone fought among themselves. Bands of youth were basically state-sanctioned gangs, the Red Guard. He just stayed at home and tried to remain invisible.

After marriage, he lived in a small apartment with his family, his brother's family, and his parents. He was able to get an apartment for just his own family of four, but it was just 12 meters square (about 10 by 10 feet) with one room and a toilet. He lived there until the opening of China in the 80's. Since then he has prospered very well. His children are both studying in the US. He and his wife live in a 1300 square foot apartment now. He is buying it on a 30 year mortgage, just like the US. He is now in his sixties, and has a wealth of knowledge and perspective, which he shared with me.

First, the opening of China is total and complete. There are no boundaries. (Remember, I'm just transcribing his words.)  Western consultants are used for everything. Western knowledge is used everywhere. There are no government or cultural limitations. The government itself is one of the larger users of Western expertise. The government knows that the best way for the party to remain in power is for the country to prosper, and it will do whatever is necessary.

Next, China is a country of central control politically, and needs to stay that way. The history of China is one of invasion by foreign forces. Centuries of domination by Mongols, by Japanese, and by Western powers have left the Chinese with a firm belief in a strong central government to protect the country. Ironically, when the US complains about human rights issues, all it does is fan the flames that foreigners are threatening China and people rally to the support of the government. The US needs to reduce complaints about China in order to allow the party to reduce its control. The US has no corresponding history of being invaded and occupied by a foreign power. Think about the rallying to support the government and President after Pearl Harbor or September 11. Now imagine that centuries of history are of such invasion and occupation.

China is not ready for democracy. Neither was the US at first. Remember the long debates on who should be given the power to vote, and we started with just male, white, land owners. Today China is filled with people with little education, with no history of democracy. When China had two parties they competed with violence. (After Sun Yat Sen led the revolution that overthrew the Europeans, the Chinese had the KMG and the Communists. In fact, the US funded KMG concentration camps in which Communists were held and tortured, a fact this gentleman gracefully omitted.) There is no history of parties competing except through violence.

Combining the need for strong central government to protect against invasion, the low education level, and the lack of history of nonviolent competition between parties, it is not appropriate to think about more than one party for China, at least at this time. And, my friend added, it isn't needed either. The current party is a good one. It makes mostly correct decisions, and the mistakes are okay. (For example, he believes that the Three Gorges Dam is a mistake, and said that 85% of all scientists in China also believe so).

He also talked about how hard the Chinese are willing to work, to sacrifice to make life better for their children, and the importance of education. Clearly as a PhD he is in a unique group that values education, but again, I think about the children in the Tiger Leaping Gorge that live away from their family all week, cooking their own meals and washing their own clothes, just to get an education. And certainly it is true that in much of Southeast Asia, the merchants are ethnic Chinese. The culture is one that recognizes that hard work and education are how you get ahead.

What worries him? Two things. One is the growing difference between the haves and have-nots. Many in the eastern cities are doing well, but the western areas remain in poverty. The other worry is the growing debt. Tens of billions of dollars are being poured into development projects. Not all of them will be successful, but the debts will need to be paid. I think back to the history of Latin America and Africa, where the development aid of the 70's just produced a yoke that halted further development and increased poverty in later years as the interest on the debt came due. In fact, I just heard last week about a city in Eastern Europe that took out loans to grow after the fall of communism, and now cannot repay the loans so municipal assets that have been around for hundreds of years, are being auctioned off.

Other thoughts? One student once remarked that he and his colleagues didn't think much of the communists. But again he didn't really look to a change in one party rule.

We need to be careful in the West to not impose our values. A kingdom works for Thailand. One party is now working for China. Democracy works for the US.

And be careful in judging. Many view the US as barbaric since we still have capital punishment. We also spend more on national defense than the next ten states combined --who is our threat? We are the world's largest polluter, and backed out of the Kyoto protocol. We won't sign the landmine treaty. Regardless of your views on these issues, realize that to the rest of the world they seem very odd for a country that professes freedom and human rights, and implores the developing world to not ruin the rain forests.