2012-08-14

The problems with China?

I have no way of assessing how accurate or representative these articles are, but Mark Kitto's account of why he has left China and will not return makes fascinating reading:

During the course of my magazine business, my state-owned competitor (enemy is more accurate) told me in private that they studied every issue I produced so they could learn from me. They appreciated my contribution to Chinese media. They proceeded to do everything in their power to destroy me.
Also see Owen Johnson's long but very detailed and thoughtful 2011 post on Why China is not going to be a superpower:
The overall result was an incredibly complex web of fiscal dealings that was nowhere under the control of, or even visible to, any one person or organization. Officials at every level could cook their books to reflect whatever fiscal picture they wanted to present to their superiors, and these carefully massaged fictions made their way up the line to the Imperial government, which therefore had no real idea of the state of its finances.

The essential information is that mainland Chinese culture is dominated by a corrupt bureaucratic system that treats foreign residents and businessmen as useful fools, worth tolerating until everything of value is extracted but then thrown out, assets confiscated, intellectual property copied, with no form of legal redress. One wonders how long they think they can make this work...

The Party censorship of the Internet in particular should cause concern. What, exactly, do they wish to conceal from their people about the Tiananmen Square "incidents"? They surely can't be ashamed of what they did there?

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